Reflections in Time
by remerkaba
Summary: When Lt Colonel Samantha Carter is force to use a damaged Quantum Mirror as the SGC's self destructs, she and the rest of SG1 find themselves in the biggest challenge they have ever faced. AU set mostly in Seasons 1 and 2. Sam/Jack focused, SG1 Adventure.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me. **

AN: I have been having a bit of trouble with a couple of chapters on this one. It is my first time having to incorporate a few episodes and try to keep everything in a specific timeline I didn't create. I intend to post once a week like I did with Continuum Interrupted for those of you that followed that one, but I wanted to be up front that this one is not finished. Interrupted wasn't finished either and the pressure to make sure I kept to the schedule kept me writing through the parts that didn't come as easily so I am going with that theory that doing so will do the same thing here. I never missed a weekly post and sometimes got an extra in. Hopefully I will do that here as well. Thank you as always Gategirl7 for all your help, support and awesome beta powers.

Reflections in Time

Chapter 1 - Sacrifices

Lt Colonel Samantha Carter set the self destruct. The tears that coursed down her face obscured her vision slightly, but she couldn't afford to waste even a millisecond of the time that General Jack O'Neill had bought for her with his death. The price had been too high for both of them. Typing in both his code and hers, she waited until the computer confirmed countdown and then set about overriding the timer. There were a lot of fail safes in place to keep anyone from doing what she was doing, but, then again, she wasn't just anyone. Within moments the timer was set to three minutes. That would be time enough to get to the storeroom.

Sam was running on automatic as she picked up her weapon and hit the control room stairs. Jack and she were going to go through the mirror. That had become the plan. When the replicators had started pouring through the gate earlier that morning, they'd quickly figured out there was no way to stop them. RepliCarter had figured out a way to send a signal through that disabled the iris control. The bugs poured through the gate at such an alarming rate, they quickly overwhelmed the base. Sam had figured out how to override her evil copy's command and the iris was now closed, but there was an overwhelming number of creatures already on base. There was no way to destroy all of them before they reached the surface without destroying the base itself.

Teal'c and Daniel had taken the survivors and fought their way to the surface. Stopping the bugs was the only thing that mattered. After they'd reached the surface, the two SG1 members along with the SGC survivors were tasked with holding the line until Sam and Jack could blow the base. As good as Teal'c and Daniel were, their task was almost impossible. The replicators were pushing for the surface faster than anyone could stop them. Even attempts to blow the exits hadn't been successful.

Jack and Sam had stayed behind. Their goal was just as impossible. They were to get to the computer and set the self destruct, making sure the bugs did not override the command. That was why Jack had to relent and not send her to the surface. No one could guarantee they could stop the bugs from disabling the self destruct, but she was the best chance they had. Not that it would have been any safer at the surface. Teal'c and Daniel were just as likely to be overwhelmed by the bugs as she and Jack.

At the very last minute before the base was destroyed, she and her general were going to use the gate and escape. They had Asgard communication stones with them to call for a ride home. That was their crazy plan. "We've had crazier, Carter," Jack's voice still rang in her head. But as always it had gone terribly wrong, more wrong than she could ever remember a plan going.

Sam forced her focus back on her surroundings. Bugs were everywhere. Thank God they were mostly concentrating on getting to the self destruct or getting outside. She knew she hadn't left them time for either. She wasn't sure she had time for her own desperate escape attempt and she wasn't sure she cared. Jack had ordered her to do whatever she had to. He'd ordered her to live right before he'd blown himself and all the bugs threatening to overwhelm her and the control room to hell. He'd bought her the time to blow the mountain and maybe escape. She knew she owed it to him to try even as her heart twisted in her chest at the thought of living without him, without her friends, maybe without her world.

As Sam raced around the corner leading to the supply room the Quantum Mirror was stored in, she skidded to a halt and brought her P90 to bear on the replicators swarming the door. "The mirror," she whispered. Had they devoured it? As she concentrated fire on the bugs they gave ground. She was able to slip in the door of the storeroom. The mirror was damaged. It had been chewed on. "Damn bugs," she cursed, reaching for the mirror remote control and hoping that it still functioned.

Sam was relieved when the mirror came on. Its shiny surface was a bit cloudy. She wasn't sure if the device would still function, but by her watch she had barely 15 seconds to spare. She switched through the realities, but in most of them the mirror was in storage. It was going to be a blind jump. Damn. She didn't have any choice. As she watched the mirror's surface something caught her eye. It was a box labeled with her name.

She wasn't superstitious at all, but it seemed as good a way as any to pick her location. At the sound of the bugs chewing through the door to the store room, she tossed a grenade behind her to make sure they couldn't follow her and touched the shimmering surface of the ancient device. Her hand made contact with the surface of the mirror just as her watch signaled that time was up. For just a moment she was surprised not to feel the normal tingle of the mirror. It was on, but she felt nothing and she was still standing on her side of the mirror.

"Broken," she said to no one in particular. "Guess I don't have to live without you after all, Jack." Sam attempted to lift her hand from the surface, but in that split second she felt a shockwave hit her. She wasn't sure if it was the grenade or the SGC detonating from within. The next thing Sam knew she was flying through the air the short distance to the mirror. She felt the impact with the mirror's surface but instead of the crush of deceleration, or the tingle of passing into an alternate reality, she felt as if she was being torn apart. There was intense pain and then pressure like she was being funneled into a space way too small for her body. She was dimly aware of being colder than she had ever been. She felt unable to open her eyes. It was like her body did not exist. She fought to feel something physical, something real. Was she dead? Was this all there was to death, the analytical part of her mind ask just before darkness enveloped her.

**.

* * *

**

**.**

"Daniel," Colonel Jack O'Neill called for the umpteenth time. He wished they'd never set foot on P3R-233. If his resident archeologist had just listened to him when he'd ordered them back to the gate all would be well. "Anything, Captain?" he asked as he caught sight of his 2IC coming out of the room she'd dubbed the souvenir shop.

"No sir," she came to a halt in front of him. He could tell she was upset. She was young. At first he hadn't been thrilled that she'd been stuck on his team without his approval, but in the past year he'd come to not only respect her knowledge, but her blossoming skills as a soldier. She was turning into a fine 2IC and would only continue to get better with time. "I only left him for a moment, Colonel," she started. "He was putting something in his backpack but he was right behind me." He knew she blamed herself.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Captain." He reassured her. "This isn't the first time Daniel has disappeared on us." But it was going to be the last. As soon as they found him safe he was going to kill the young man with his bare hands. He watched her search his face for a moment before she nodded her acceptance. Their little team had been through a lot this first year, but they were really gelling. Yep, there was a lot of potential in the young officer he'd taken under his wing. He continued to be impressed by her at each turn. Now if he could just get the image of her in the skimpy little tank top tackling him in the locker room out of his mind they'd do fine. Jack sighed as she turned toward Teal'c. It hadn't been that long since their adventures in the Land of Light, he was sure the desire her actions had kindled in him would fade back to normal given time. Yeah right, he mentally rolled his eyes at his own train of thought.

"The Goa'uld symbol that says danger," she questioned, "could it have something to do with Daniel's disappearance?" She'd moved to the object in question and was studying it. Jack moved behind her to study it as well.

"I do not believe so, Captain Carter," Teal'c supplied. He came around to stand beside her. "As I informed Colonel O'Neill, it warns of danger, but the danger is what you would call radioactivity. It is a warning that this planet's atmosphere is no longer safe." They all turned to survey the room one more time, each lost in their own thoughts. They'd been over every inch of the building they were in. The young scientist would have had to pass them to get out of the only exit so he wasn't outside.

A shout from the area he'd dubbed the souvenir shop brought them all to attention and had them running before it had even faded. Jack took the scene in the moment he stepped through the door. The mirror looking thing was shimmering, it hadn't been when he'd searched the room minutes ago. Daniel was on the floor in front of the device holding his bloody arm with the other hand, writhing in pain.

"Daniel!" Jack exclaimed, bending over the younger man to assess his injuries. "What the hell is this?

** "**It appears to be caused by a staff weapon." Teal'c declaration only confirmed what he had been thinking. Jack looked at the wound in confusion, before reaching out to take the paper that Daniel was clutching. The paper had blood smeared on it and appeared to be a Stargate address.

"This looks like a Stargate address," Sam said, echoing his own thoughts as she looked at the paper in his hands. Where the hell had the man gotten the wound and the address, where had he been? Jack hated riddles, but here was not the place to solve them. He'd get his team safe, and then they would figure out what had happened. "Alright, let's get him back to Earth."

Daniel turned intense, fear filled eyes on him. "No Jack! We're all in very big trouble! They're coming. They're coming." His words were full of fear. Jack turned to the other two members of SG1 to see their reactions. Carter's reaction nearly made his heart stop. She was looking at the mirror thing which had started to pulse. Her skin was actually pulsing with it, turning flushed then pale, then flush again. That went on for only a split second, before her scream of pain sent him surging to his feet. The mirror pulsed one more time and a beam of what looked like streaks of blue lightening flashed across its surface. The alien device shut itself off and the young Captain lost consciousness. She'd have crumbled to the ground if he hadn't stood up just in time to catch her.


	2. Chapter 2 Do Overs

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me. **

AN: Thank you Gategirl7 for your beta skills and patience. Thank you to everyone reading. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2 - Do Overs

"She's still out. How can there not be anything wrong Doc?" The general's voice sounded very exasperated to Sam as she began climbing back toward consciousness. At first her heart leaped. It had all been a dream. Jack was alive. As she came more awake and the truth started to filter in, Sam's heart lost its rhythm and twisted in her chest. If she was alive, which she seemed to be, then she must be in another reality because in hers Jack was dead. She rode out the wave of pain at all she'd lost and tried to concentrate on the conversation going on around her.

"I understand Colonel O'Neill," was that Janet's voice? It couldn't be. Sam tried to open her eyes, but they were too heavy. Had they called Jack, colonel? Things were much different in this reality. She tried to think. The mirror shouldn't feel like what she'd just experienced. Maybe the shock wave that hit her was responsible for her being unconscious in the infirmary, but that still didn't explain what she'd felt when she actually hit the damaged mirror.

"I think she's coming around," that was Daniel's voice.

"You with us, Captain?" Jack's voice sounded so good to her that it took a minute to register that he'd called her captain. She didn't necessarily expect to be a Lt Colonel in all the realities, but still being a captain after all these years was not encouraging. Wait, why weren't they questioning who she was? She'd hoped to pick a reality where there wasn't another her. That would mean she could stay there longer before Entropic Cascade Failure became a problem, but whether she existed in this reality or not, they should be questioning who they had lying in the bed. If there was another Carter in this reality, these people should be wondering who she is and if this reality had no Carter, then again, they should be wondering who she was. It didn't make sense.

Sam forced her eyes open. She wasn't prepared for what she found. Teal'c was standing behind Jack. He had no hair and looked very stoic and stiff, like when he'd first joined the team. Daniel's hair was that floppy style he'd worn until they became friends enough for her to encourage a haircut. Janet was to one side of her looking relieved and very alive. And then there was Jack. His face was so young, his hair didn't have much grey and the scar over his eye was barely healed. He looked to be about her age or a little younger.

"This isn't right." The mirror didn't effect time, it took you to alternate realities. The same amount of time should have passed in each parallel universe, making them all the same age as their counterparts in her world. She looked from one to the other of the people around her bed. Jack was the most disconcerting to her. She knew every line on his handsome face, she'd kissed the faded scar above his eye when they'd been mind stamped on the ice planet. Most of the lines that she knew so well were gone and the scar was freshly healing. No, No, No, she thought again. The mirror did not adjust time. It was a bridge to other realities.

"What isn't right Captain?" Jack's voice was laced with concern. She blinked again and looked at each person closely. If they were all younger then what about her? She lifted her left hand. There should have been a cut from where she'd gotten too close to one of the replicators and it had sliced into her before Jack had blown it to pieces. The injury was not there. She looked down at her arms. She was missing almost all the marks of her years on a front line off world team.

"What's going on, Sam?" Daniel asked her when she didn't answer Jack.

"What happened?" She hoped they'd answer her question without asking anymore questions themselves. As Daniel launched into an explanation Sam's heart beat out of her chest. He started describing his trip through the mirror they'd found on P3R-233. He was worried about the Goa'uld invasion of Apophis! She listened enough to know it was the exact same story that her Daniel had experienced all those years ago on his first trip through the Quantum Mirror. How could that be? That was in 1998! She'd been in 2005 when she'd stepped through the mirror!

"We've been through this Daniel," Jack warned.

"There were some differences in that reality," Daniel conceded, glancing at Jack, but obviously trying to convince her to support his bid to go through the gate and try to save Earth. They'd obviously talked about this while she was unconscious and he'd failed to convince Jack, just like all those years ago. Back then it hadn't been until she and Teal'c lent their support that Jack had begun to give credence to Daniel's alternate reality story. "In that one you and Jack were engaged."

She almost laughed. Daniel was so predictable.

"Daniel!" The tone of Colonel O'Neill's voice left no doubt he wasn't thrilled with the sharing of that tidbit.

"It is theoretically possible, sir," she echoed her own words from their first year together as a team, but this time she actually enjoyed the uncomfortable squaring of Jack's shoulders. All those years working with him as her CO had rubbed off. Her momentary amusement gave way to confusion. Was she in the past of her reality or another? How was this possible? If this was 1998, after they'd found the Quantum Mirror, was Kinsey's investigation right around the corner as well? What about the invasion, their first trip to a Goa'uld mothership, their first time saving the planet from alien invasion?

"It's against regulations, Captain," she heard Jack's voice overlaid with the memory of the first time they'd had that conversation. Sam remembered how awkward and uncomfortable they'd both been when Daniel had casually dropped that piece of information on them. It seemed like an entire lifetime ago.

"I'm talking physics, sir," she corrected impatiently. Years of knowing him honed her answer much more than the first time she'd given it. "What Daniel experienced was an alternate reality. They exist, overlapping each other and diverging each time we make a different choice in our lives like forks in the road."

"That's theory isn't it Carter? You sound very sure," he stated. His look was one she recognized well. She'd acted slightly out of the norm from what he expected. She'd have to be careful of that. She didn't want to raise any red flags until she had an idea what was going on.

"Alright all of you," Janet interrupted. "I think Sam might have been asking what happened to her." Bless the woman, Sam thought, realizing just how much she'd missed her friend. All eyes turned to her.

"I would like to know how I ended up in the infirmary." That was an understatement, but the best she could do at the time. As she listened to their description of how the mirror had acted before Captain Carter had passed out, Sam grew more confused. It just didn't make any sense. Was she in her reality only at an earlier point in time? Was this another reality and she'd somehow switched places with another version of herself? Oh God, did that mean she could she have sent a younger, inexperienced version of herself to be destroyed in the explosion happening in her reality?

Questions circled in her mind. Maybe the damaged mirror combined with that energy from the blast wave had sent her to the time that the mirror had first been activated in this reality, at least by them. She needed to get to her lab. She needed to figure out what was happening and if there was a way to fix it. She couldn't exactly just go back to her own reality or time. Hopefully they'd saved the planet, but the mirror was destroyed and Jack was dead. For all she knew Daniel and Teal'c were too.

"How are you feeling Sam?" Janet asked. She was making notes in her chart.

"I feel fine." Physically that was true. She just had a light headache. "Can I go now?" The sooner she was out, the sooner she could try to figure out what was going on.

"Easy, Captain," Jack's constant use of her rank was getting on her nerves. She knew it wasn't reasonable. This man didn't know her as well as she knew him or maybe his counterpart, she wasn't sure at this point. "Let ol' Doc Frazier do her job."

"Yes, sir," she acknowledged. She'd gotten so used to Jack treating her as a trusted adviser. She wasn't eager to return to the days when everything had been new and she'd been a wide eyed, wet behind the ears officer he was mentoring. She didn't know if she could look at him and see only a commander anymore.

"I don't see any lasting damage, Sam," Janet closed her clipboard. "You seem just fine. I'm not going to restrict your activities, but I do want you to take it easy the rest of the day and come tell me if you experience anything unusual."

"I will, Janet, thank you. So I'm clear for gate travel?" She might need to go back to the planet.

"You would be if there was Gate travel, Sam," Janet told her solemnly.

"The Stargate is to be buried day after tomorrow," Teal'c intoned. He'd been so quiet she'd almost forgotten he was there. He was so rigid in comparison to her friend. She remembered how the first year they'd all been trying to find their footing with each other, especially with Teal'c. It wasn't until after she'd had the experience of Jolinar that she'd begun to be feel more comfortable with him. Oh God, Sam was startled to realize, she didn't feel his presence because this body had never been blended. Her encounter with Jolinar was weeks away. If this was her in an earlier time did she dare avoid that? Having naqahdah in her system had saved them so many times. For that matter, did she dare avoid so many of the terrible things they had been through that had ended up giving them an advantage in the long run? How much should she try to change?

"Kinsey," Sam stated without thinking. If she was in her reality then she knew what, or who had shut gate travel down.

"How do you know that?" Jack's question was sudden and suspicious. She'd made another mistake. Should she just tell them what was going on? Sam didn't think she could chance it. The program was too new. They didn't have the experience to take this in stride and she had to make sure she was a part of the next mission. If she was in her own reality she couldn't chance changing how the next few days had turned out. SG1 had destroyed two mother ships against all odds. That had to be the outcome this time.

"It was weird," she ad-libbed, "I could hear you guys speaking by my bedside before I woke up. How long was I out?" It was an educated guess, but she was pretty safe. They always sat around each other's bedsides and if she'd been out long they would have discussed whatever was going on around them with her.

"You were out for two days," Daniel answered. "Sam, how much did you hear?" He was his old curious self. They'd all become a bit jaded by all their experiences. She hadn't realized how much enthusiasm he'd had in the beginning. "Did you hear me tell them about the alternate timeline? Did you hear me say that I have the address for where the Goa'uld attack on this world will come from?"

"Did you hear me say that we don't even know if there is going to be an attack?" Jack's exasperation at the young scientist was so apparent that Sam had to hide a smile.

"I agree with Daniel, sir," she said, lending her support. "If there is any chance that there is going to be an attack and we don't try to stop it now, how will you feel if they do arrive and we lose Earth?"

"We should attempt to dial the gate," Teal'c agreed. Jack looked back and forth between them. He considered for a moment.

"And you're OK with this, Carter?" She knew he meant was she ok with defying orders. In her younger days being in gross violation of orders would have been a much bigger question. At Jack O'Neill's side she'd learned to do what was necessary, so this time around she hadn't considered the question of disobeying orders pertinent when held up against an alien invasion.

Come to think of it, this very situation had been the first time in her military career that she'd considered going against orders given so high up the chain of command. Before that moment she had never conceived of such an action. She'd agreed to go on that mission because it was right, but also because she had complete trust in the officer she was following.

"You wouldn't even be considering this if it wasn't right, Colonel," she told him. "I'm going." O'Neill didn't speak for a moment, just studied her before nodding. The grim acceptance of her answer was laced with something else on his face. He was proud of her. That realization made her heart constrict in her chest. All of SG1 had grown into such a close knit family over the years, she'd forgotten how much those looks of approval had meant to her, to all of them, in the beginning when everything was so new to them all and they all trusted Jack to be the one to hold them together and keep them safe.


	3. Chapter 3 Suspicions

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading and thank you to all of you that were kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. Thank you Gategirl7!

Previously:

"You wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't right Colonel," she told him. "I'm going." The grim acceptance of her answer was laced with something else on his face. He was proud of her. That realization made her heart constrict in her chest. All of SG1 had grown into such a close knit family over the years, she'd forgotten how much those looks of approval had meant to her in the beginning when everything was so new to them all.

Chapter 3 – Suspicions.

Colonel Jack O'Neill sat in his office thinking over SG1's latest mission, unauthorized, but save the world mission. He smiled. They'd actually done it. His little team had gated aboard Apophis' Goa'uld mothership and against all odds, they'd kicked his slimy snake ass, thus saving the world. Jack was disappointed that they hadn't been successful in helping the Goa'uld infested boy he'd become so fond of on Abydos, but Skara had been beyond their ability to aid for now. Even with that loss he was so proud of his team. This had been the biggest challenge SG1 had faced as a team thus far. They'd all acted above and beyond and pulled off the impossible.

What troubled Jack about the otherwise flawless mission was how much above and beyond Captain Carter had acted. He thought back over the operation again. The team had split up quite often, but each time they'd been together moving through the alien ship Carter had reacted with the instincts of an officer way above her rank and one familiar with her surroundings, he'd stake his career on that.

Jack considered the last year. Captain Carter was a hell of a fine officer and 2IC. She was smart, brave, and absorbed every lesson and experience that he had to give her. She looked to him at a mentor, as she should. He was both honored and humbled by the faith that she showed in him and he acknowledged that she made him a better person. Her honor and the little bit of hero worship he sensed from her made him want to be the officer, the man he'd been before life jaded him.

On this mission, Samantha Carter had been different. She still deferred to him, but she had an unconscious confidence that came from years of experience and couldn't be faked. Some officers never developed it. From the beginning, he could see in her that someday she would, but that day shouldn't have been now. It should have been years before she showed the poise she'd shown on those ships. Hell, she hadn't even hesitated when he'd asked where the glider bay was, she'd turned in that direction before Bra'tac had, then seemed to catch herself and hold back. Something else hit him hard in the gut, when they'd first gated in and the big ship had launched into hyperspace, she hadn't hit the floor with the rest of them. Neither had Teal'c, but then again he was Teal'c. Carter not hitting the floor with the rest of them just didn't add up.

"Hey Jack," Daniel called from the doorway, breaking into his thoughts.

"Daniel," Jack acknowledged, motioning toward the chair in front of his desk. He wasn't surprised when Teal'c rounded the door right behind the archeologist. "Guys." He watched them both settle into his office. Teal'c was stoic as always and chose to stand while Daniel slumped into a chair.

"Lunch?" Daniel asked. The team had settled into a routine of finding each other for meals when on base. At first it had been Jack collecting up everyone and making sure the two scientists weren't too involved in their work to eat, but later they'd all started to look out for each other. They were congealing quite well, he was pleased.

"Sure, where's Carter?" he asked, half expecting her to come around the corner.

"She is working on whatever project you have her on. I couldn't get her to budge. Even Teal'c couldn't." Daniel's tone was a bit accusatory. He must have decided that Jack was making the young captain work too hard, but Jack didn't have her working on anything right now. He was sure she had some doohickey or other to occupy her, but nothing urgent.

"Did either of you notice anything different with Carter on this last mission?" He hadn't meant to ask, but some things about her were bothering him and he trusted the judgment of both men, in different ways.

"Captain Carter's confidence as a warrior has grown," Teal'c offered. "You have taught her well. She reminded me much of you in the way that she conducted herself aboard Apophis' ship." That was quite the compliment coming from the big guy. "Rarely have I seen a warrior's poise and prowess develop so quickly. Captain Carter's behavior is most interesting."

"See that is what I'm talking about." His Jaffa buddy had hit the nail on the head. "Every since she woke up from that damn mirror zapping her, she seems much more sure of herself than I'd expect her to be," Jack agreed.

"Now that you mention it, I did notice when we were placing C4 she seemed to know right where to go. She never hesitated. I was lost several times, but she never was." Daniel's face was thoughtful. "But we were all checked after the mission and everything was fine wasn't it?" That was the first thing Jack had checked. Daniel's brain had kicked in. Jack could tell. He watched the young scientist going over thoughts in his head.

Jack knew that Daniel would be in observation mode. He hoped that his suspicions were wrong. Carter had been checked and rechecked after the mirror accident. He didn't see any way that anything could be wrong, but Jack had been listening to his instincts for way too many years to completely turn them off now. "I'm going to go get the good Captain. We will meet you two in the lunch room." He didn't wait for the answer, but got up from his desk and headed out in search of his missing team member.

* * *

Sam looked at the simulation that she'd run for the fourth time. The computer was older than the laptop she was used to and not as fast, but it was state of the art for 1998 and it served its purpose. She'd learned a lot over the years and setting up a simulation to figure out if she was in her own reality, but in the past, or in a totally new reality had not been that difficult. Writing it so that this older computer could run it had been the only real challenge.

"So right reality, wrong time," she mused, closing her eyes against the data she was reading. The truth of her situation hit her harder than she was ready for and she had to grip the side of the table to steady herself. Sam briefly considered trying another program, but she knew that no matter how many times she ran simulations, she would come up with the same answer. Somehow she'd been thrown back in time to when they'd first found the mirror. Now what, she silently questioned.

Could she save her world from the replicators? "Who's going to believe you?" she asked herself out loud. Sam ran a hand through her hair and stared sightlessly at the screen. She thought about how much they'd learned, the races that they met. She thought about Jolinar and how terrible that whole event had seemed to her. She'd woken up with nightmares for years after. That mission was coming up. Did she allow it to happen again or did she simply not give the fleeing Tokra the chance to blend with her by not giving the host mouth to mouth? That event alone had opened so many doors for them in later years. That event had lead to saving her Dad's live. How much did she have the right to change? They'd done some things terribly wrong, but they'd done some things incredibly right as well.

"So Carter," Jack's voice as he entered her office startled her. She jumped guiltily and had to catch herself from switching off the computer screen. Looking at the Colonel, she had to fight the sudden tears that threatened. She missed him so badly. She wanted to tell him everything that had happened, but here, in this time, they didn't know each other that well. She thought about the mission they'd just completed. Everything they'd faced had been so new to the three of them. It had been hard to act as if she was seeing it for the first time also. Until that moment when the hyperdrive had engaged and she'd adjusted to it automatically, keeping her footing while her two human team mates had flown across the floor, Sam hadn't realized just how much she took for granted these days. She hadn't realized just how commonplace being on a Goa'uld ship had become.

Jack caught that slip on the ship, she was sure of it and now he'd caught her guilty jump. His face was closed off, that only happened when he was upset with something or in a situation that he was trying to figure out. She couldn't afford to keep raising alarm bells around him. Jack O'Neill was simply too good an officer and too astute to not notice and not take action.

"I hear you are thinking of skipping lunch." Instead of his usual spot on the opposite side of her workbench, her CO walked around to her side and parked himself uncomfortably close. "What is so important that you are thinking of skipping the second most important meal of the day, Captain?" He questioned leaning into her to line himself up to peer at the monitor screen. Alarm bells sounded in Sam's head. Jack O'Neill did not ever want to see what was on her computer screen and at this point in their working relationship, O'Neill was too respectful of her space to be this close without a purpose. Was he trying to rattle her? She wasn't sure, but Sam was well aware Jack was much smarter than he pretended and she did not need him reading her data on the Quantum Mirror and time travel.

"Just running a few simulations, Colonel," she answered, flipping the screen over to the more numerical, harder to decipher data, "would you like to see?" Sam shifted slightly, adjusting the screen more his way. The movement allowed her to swing her hip, bringing her leg and the swell of her backside against his inner thigh. She felt the man beside her freeze. She wasn't sure why he'd been trying to see what was on her computer or why he'd crowded her to do it, but she knew him well enough to know that at this stage he'd be uncomfortable with his reaction to her. At this point in time, they'd just begun to flirt. Looking back she realized that the Colonel had taken it for granted that his young, slightly dazzled 2IC would always keep distance between them. It had taken her years to begin to hold her own in the flirting arena with her charismatic leader. If she was as good at reading him as she thought he should be taking a step back right about...

"Ah ok, well you still need to eat," he stammered a bit as he backed up, spun on his heels and made for the door. Yep, she knew her Jack O'Neill's from any time well, she thought with a small smile.

"Of course Sir, I will be there in just a moment." Sam watched him nod thoughtfully before heading out of the door before she turned her attention back to the screen. She was going to need to be a lot more careful around her CO until she figured out what to do. Sam had no illusions. The program at the point she was at now was too new to easily accept what had happened to her. The NID was still a very real presence as well. She could easily find herself locked up. Dropping her head in her hands for a moment, Sam took a breath and tried to fight the turmoil inside her. She had a lot of thinking to do. All she wanted at that moment was to go home and allow herself to feel the guilt and pain of surviving, when everyone she knew was dead to her. Now she was being asked to relive the years leading to that destruction and she was at an uncharacteristic loss as to which course of action to take.

With a sigh, Sam forced her thoughts back to the here and now. She better get to the lunch before Jack began to wonder at her sudden propensity for ignoring direct orders, even ones implied rather than stated. Reading the data one more time, she committed it to memory before carefully erasing the files and every avenue that could be used to retrieve them.


	4. Chapter 4 Decisions

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me. **

AN: Thank you Gategirl7 for your beta skills and patience. Thank you to everyone reading. I hope you enjoy!

**** NOTE: I know nothing about fighting or technique. I did the best I could do with the little bit I wrote. Hopefully it came across well enough for you to get the idea. ****

Previously:

With a sigh, Sam forced her thoughts back to the here and now. She better get to the lunch before Jack began to wonder at her sudden propensity for ignoring direct orders, even ones implied rather than stated. Reading the data one more time, she committed it to memory before carefully erasing the files and every avenue that could be used to retrieve them.

Chapter 4 - Distractions

Lunch hadn't gone badly, Jack reflected. Carter had been more herself. She'd listened intently to everything going on around her and joined in, but she still seemed a little distracted. She and Daniel had discussed plans to meet on their next day off and help each other out with a few things. Everything sounded oh so normal. He wished he could dismiss his Captain's behavior on the mothership. A part of him wanted to let it go and chalk the whole thing up as bad shock therapy, but his gut told him there was way more going on.

Jack winced as he sat down at his desk and began sorting through uncompleted reports. With a sigh he picked up the oldest and started flipping through to see what he needed to do to complete the dreaded task. Maybe he should try to get Daniel or Carter to do his report for him he thought, dismissing the idea after a pleasant interlude of imaging what it would be like to simply sign his name to a ghost written report.

"O'Neill," Teal'c's voice rumbled from the doorway. "I believe it is time for our rematch you requested in the battle with the small wooden table warriors." Jack couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Did the big guy realize what an awesome straight man he made? They were the perfect comic team, the colonel reasoned.

"Foosball, Teal'c," he corrected, closing the folder he was working on and coming to his feet. "We were playing foosball." The reports could wait. "I think now is an excellent time for a rematch, but you have the rules down now, so there won't be any reason for me to be so easy on you."

"Indeed," Teal'c responded, bowing slightly as he stepped back to allow Jack out of the door. O'Neill just raised an eyebrow at him as he passed. That man could get more mileage out of one word then anyone he'd ever met. That had been a challenge if he'd ever heard one and the Jaffa had beaten him by a large margin last time.

Slightly more than an hour later Jack was once again losing badly to the big warrior, the man was scary good at whatever sport Jack introduced him to. "Another game?" Jack asked, not sure why he wanted to subject himself to another foosball smack down.

"I cannot O'Neill," Teal'c informed him. Jack tried not to allow the relief he felt to show on his face. "I have invited Captain Carter to spar with me." Jack's eyebrows made a leap for his hairline. Cater was still having some trouble warming up to Teal'c. The team was still adjusting to each other. They all had complete trust in Teal'c, but he was still a bit of an unknown for all of them. Daniel knew no strangers, O'Neill recognized the spirit of a fellow warrior, but Carter was still finding her footing with the big man. She worked well with him, but Jack couldn't imagine that a sparring match was something she'd have agreed to. Besides, she'd been awful hard to get out of her lab these days.

"She didn't make some excuse about simulations and doohickeys?"

"She did not." Teal'c stepped around the table. "She appeared to welcome the invitation." Ok, Jack found her being enthusiastic hard to believe.

"And what made you suddenly decide to spar with our Captain?" He had to admit, sometimes he couldn't figure out the big guy's motives any better than the rest of the SGC. Being hard to read would have been a prerequisite of keeping alive while serving a god you didn't believe, Jack figured.

"Did you not wish that Daniel Jackson and I help you determine the extent of changes in Captain Carter since she was struck unconscious?" Oh yeah, but he hadn't thought the former First Prime would take to the investigation so readily. Teal'c paused for a second before adding in as serious a voice as Jack had ever heard when not in battle, "I have watched you worked with Captain Carter to improve her skills. I, too, am curious." Jack didn't say anything. He didn't like the feeling in the pit of his stomach. So the older warrior had questions too. He had noticed the changes as well, not a good sign, but trust his Jaffa buddy to find a good test. They'd both done enough instructing over the years to be able to tell how much training a particular student had very quickly. Making a mental note to come by and watch some of the sparring, Jack just nodded as Teal'c bowed slightly and turned for the door.

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She was going to have to find a way to tell them and make them believe her, Sam acknowledged to herself as she changed quickly into workout clothes. There was just one thing she was going to have to do first. She was going to have to go through the gate in two days and allow herself to be taken by Jolinar. Sam shuddered at the thought. She remembered feeling a prisoner in her own body, the fear, the helplessness. That had been the worse experience of her professional life and now she was going to have to repeat it. Tying her shoes and grabbing a towel, Sam tried to calm her thoughts. She needed the Naqahdah in her system. She needed the connection that the Tok'ra would feel in her to be there.

"And if she taps into your brain and sees the future?" she asked herself out loud. With a sigh, Sam dropped down onto the bench and allowed her head to fall into her hands. Jolinar had been so arrogant and so tied up with trying to convince the humans around her to let her go that she had pushed Sam to the back of her own mind and only taken basic knowledge she needed to survive. The symbiote had never tried to probe into her unwilling host's mind. Sam was banking that she wouldn't do so now. She had to trust that after all the years having her mind probed by things like Fifth, she could keep her thoughts of the future from Jolinar.

Shaking herself and standing up from the bench, Sam picked up her water bottle and forced herself out of the door. Jack had taught her a long time ago that getting caught up in your own mind before a mission was never a good idea. "Don't dwell," she told herself, hearing his voice in the words as she spoke them quietly. Blinking away the sudden moisture threatening to turn to tears, Sam reached for the door. She didn't want to be late for practice with Teal'c. Even if she managed to keep Jolinar from sensing the knowledge of the future and she managed to survive the forced blending like she'd done before, Sam was seriously worried about how to inform them of her situation. Was there any chance in hell of remaining free after she did tell? The stress relief working out with her friend would provide was just what the doctor ordered.

Maybe it was dangerous to spar with this version of her friend. After all they weren't close now like they'd be in a few years, but she desperately needed to find something familiar and unchanged and he was as close as she got. He had been the one constant in her life since joining SG1. Daniel died on them periodically, Jack had accepted promotion and slowly pulled away from their team even as they'd been trying to find their own footing, but Teal'c was always there. Now as she was faced with the prospect of living her life over again and trying to make the right call on what to say to her teammates and how to say it, she needed this downtime. She would just have to be careful and not use any of his own moves on him.

Sam smiled at the thought as she headed for the gym. It was always so hard to surprise Teal'c that she wished her situation wasn't so dire. She could just imagine the big man's reaction if she used one of the Jaffa fighting techniques he'd begun teaching his human teammates a few years into the program on him! That would be priceless. With his sense of humor, he'd appreciate the joke. She smiled sadly. In a few years he'd appreciate the joke. Right now he was trying to figure out Earth and fit in. She'd never realized how at a loss he'd felt until years later when he'd admitted to her and Daniel how hard it had been to fit into their team in the beginning. The fighting and going through the gate had been no problem, but learning to live among his human teammates and establish ties had been considerably harder for him.

"Captain Carter," Teal'c called, bowing slightly when she smiled in acknowledgment.

"Hi, Teal'c," she answered, unable to keep the grin on her face from spreading. "Thanks for inviting me. This is just what I need." She laid her water bottle and towel down on the bench next to the area they were going to work out.

He acknowledged her statement with a slight bow and watched her warm up and stretch before they both stepped into place on the workout mat. Sam really couldn't remember how many times she'd sparred with him in the early years. Mostly it had been Jack working with her to show her new moves and enhance her skill set, but as she'd become familiar and comfortable with Teal'c she'd worked with both of them. She made a mental note to keep her moves basic.

Five minutes into the match, Sam began to relax. Teal'c was taking it easy on her. He treated her as he should when training a young officer with level 3 advanced training. Since she was way beyond that these days that made it fairly simple to respond in a manner he was expecting her to. The physical activity as well as Teal'c's steady presence was quieting her brain and keeping her mind occupied. Sam forced her attention back to the match. Even when Teal'c was taking it easy, it didn't pay to let her mind wonder.

Just as that thought crystallized, Teal'c unexpectedly intensified his attack. Without thinking, Sam blocked his move and counter attacked as she'd been taught to do by both of SG1's warriors. It was a basic move one of them had taught her long ago and she'd long since mastered. Muscle memory took over and before she could catch herself she'd slipped under his defenses and barely stopped herself from scoring a hit on him.

Damn, she swore silently as she backed off and allowed his next hit to take her to the mat. Her skill level as Captain Carter should not be anywhere near the level she was at now, after years of training by both Teal'c and Jack and years of combat. Muscle memory by itself was going to give her away. Teal'c was too good at not only teaching, but at reading people as well. No way he missed that one. She had been stupid to think she could spar with such an experienced teacher and not give herself away.

"Are you injured Captain Carter?" She hadn't immediately gotten off of the floor. She wasn't hurt, but she wasn't in a hurry to get up. With a sigh, Sam accepted Teal'c's hand and climbed to her feet.

"I'm fine Teal'c," she assured him. "Want to try that again slowly and show me what I did?" she tried, hoping to salvage her pretense. She watched her friend's face. Even closed off like he was now, the man was fairly expressive if you knew what you were looking for. Her stomach twisted a little at his look. He was skeptical. Had he been testing her skill level? The thought brought her up short. He could easily beat her in hand to hand combat, beating her hadn't been why he intensified his moves. He'd been testing her. Not only had she fallen for it, she'd actually managed to surprise him. Great Sam, she told herself. She needed this mission over and to find a way to tell them the truth before her team decided something more sinister than the truth was going on with her.

"Oh come now, Captain," Jack's voice behind her made her jerk her head around in surprise. "That was a pretty impressive move. I didn't see you do much of anything wrong." Sam froze. When had he come in? If she remembered correctly, she'd trained much more with Colonel O'Neill in the beginning than with Teal'c. Of course he'd know what she should be capable of at that point and she'd just shown him enough for his suspicions to kick into overdrive. "You're getting a little lazy with your stance. Remember to keep your weight centered on your left leg when you pivot. It will make it easier to stop your momentum when you need to." Oh god, he'd noticed that she'd stopped moving forward and allowed herself to get taken down by a basic move. Could she have screwed up any more? Two of the most expert hand to hand fighters she had ever known and she'd just messed up big time.

The colonel approached the mat. "Mind if I step in, Teal'c?" Teal'c merely bowed and stepped back. Jack was too casual. Sam tried not to react, not to give away the panic she felt inside. She wasn't ready for this. It was too soon to be asked to be this close to him, too soon to be touched by him, even just in practice. She wasn't sure if she could hold her composure, let alone try to convince someone of Jack's caliber that she had only the skills a fairly advanced Captain should have.

Sam moved mechanically as O'Neill directed her through the stance he wanted her to correct. As he stood behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her while he corrected her left hip, Sam's vision swam. She heard O'Neill instructing her, but in her mind's eye he had gray hair, not brown and he was squeezing her shoulder as he held her in the control chair of the bug infested SGC. She could hear his voice telling her this couldn't go down any other way and making her promise to get to the mirror since she couldn't get to the gate. In a few years the man standing behind her would order her to live right before he sacrificed himself.

Sam tried to push the memories away. They caused too much pain and she didn't have the luxury of time to deal with them right now. Her mind was so preoccupied she wasn't ready when O'Neill moved to test his correction of her stance. He easily took her to the mat. She tried to correct her mistake on the way down, but ended up tangling them up as badly as a first year cadet.

Jack's skill kept her from being hurt as he controlled their fall. His weight came down across her. One of his legs was between hers. He had her arm behind her back and would have been crushing her chest, making it hard to breathe if he hadn't caught part of his weight on his other forearm. His face was only inches from hers. "What happened there, Carter?" he asked, genuinely concerned. "What's going on with you? Is there something you'd like to discuss with me?"

"I'm fine Sir, I'm sorry," she offered, trying to keep her body still and her eyes locked with his. It was hard. The last time he'd been this close, he'd kissed her and told her that he wished he'd done that sooner. That was the last time she'd seen him. Things had been moving so fast that she hadn't had time to grieve her loss, didn't even know if grieving was the right word. The man she'd lost was right here. She closed her eyes for a moment, surrounded by the scent that was uniquely Jack O'Neill, taking comfort in him. In a few short years this man would be in love with her, but the trouble was that she was there now and he was just starting the journey. She desperately wanted to give in to the overwhelming need to confess everything that was happening and share some of the burden with Jack, with the whole team. She needed them all, but most especially she needed him.


	5. Chapter 5 Timing

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me. **

AN: Thank you Gategirl7 for your beta skills and patience. Thank you to everyone reading. I hope you enjoy!

**** NOTE: I know nothing about fighting or technique. I did the best I could do with the little bit I wrote. Hopefully it came across well enough for you to get the idea. ****

Previously:

"I'm fine Sir, I'm sorry," she offered, trying to keep her body still and her eyes locked with his. It was hard. The last time he'd been this close, he'd kissed her and told her that he wished he'd done that sooner. That was the last time she'd seen him. Things had been moving so fast that she hadn't had time to grieve her loss, didn't even know if grieving was the right word. The man she'd lost was right here. She closed her eyes for a moment, surrounded by the scent that was uniquely Jack O'Neill, taking comfort in him. In a few short years this man would be in love with her, but the trouble was that she was there now and he was just starting the journey. She desperately wanted to give in to the overwhelming need to confess everything that was happening and share some of the burden with Jack, with the whole team. She needed them all, but most especially she needed him.

Chapter 5 – Timing

Jack was caught off guard when Sam didn't counter his move. He'd shifted to sweep her legs out from under her from behind and she'd let him. Worse, she'd tried to twist as they went down, not protecting her body in the fall at all. He barely had time to cushion her landing and keep most of his weight off of her. Jack didn't immediately let Sam up. He looked at her closely. He could see so much going on in her, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"What happened there, Carter?" he asked, genuinely concerned. She hadn't been the same since the damn mirror and he wanted answers. "What's going on with you? Is there something you'd like to discuss with me?" He met her eyes and held them, hoping she'd tell him what was happening. He felt her tense beneath him. Her face wasn't as expressive of late. It was getting harder to read her, but for a moment the look in her eyes was so intensely sad, he had to fight not to comfort her. He couldn't squelch the impulse completely so he settled for releasing her wrist he still held behind her back and rubbing his thumb across the soft skin instead.

Her reaction was as instant as it was unexpected. Her eyes dilated and the sadness was replaced by heat. Her lips parted slightly with her sudden intake of breath. Jack's body was way ahead of his mind. When he felt her restless movement against his leg, he automatically answered with pressure against her center. The smolder in her eyes turned to flame. Jack couldn't look away.

"Hey guys," Daniel's voice was like ice water across the pair on the mat. Jack released Sam as if burned and rolled to the side, coming to his feet. She looked dazed for a second before accepting the hand he held out and allowing him to pull her to her feet. "General Hammond sent me to find you. He needs to move the briefing up two hours." Bless Daniel and his timing. He'd just saved them awkwardness at best, and a court marshal at worst. Jack struggled to bring his reactions to his Captain back under control while appearing as normal as possible. A glance at his 2IC left him with no doubt that she was struggling too. Carter wasn't meeting his eyes. They'd been flirting lightly since the Brocca virus, but what just happened was not flirting lightly. For a moment they had been alone in the room. His body was still nearly at attention as he fought to bring his reactions back under control.

"That's not much time. I better hit the shower, Sir" Carter told him, still finding a place over his left shoulder to look rather than his face. A blush had started to climb across her neck that had nothing to do with her workout. "Thank you for the workout, Teal'c." She didn't wait for him to acknowledge what she said, but collected her things and was out of the door.

"What's wrong with Sam?" Daniel asked, looking between the two men. Jack exchanged a look with Teal'c. Not now Daniel, he thought to himself, willing the young man to not question him about what he'd just seen on the mat. "Did you figure out what was going on and confront her or something?" Daniel looked at them accusingly. "If something is wrong we need to support her." Jack mentally rolled his eyes at the same time he sent a thank you heavenward that Daniel had missed the intense moment between him and Carter.

"We did not question Captain Carter, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c interrupted. "She and I sparred."

"Yeah, Teal'c," Jack jumped on the chance to change the focus off of what just nearly happened on the mat. He needed his mind off of it as well. "About that, have you been working with her that I wasn't aware of?"

"I have not," Teal'c confirmed. Jack wasn't surprised. He kept track of his team's training and he hadn't known of them practicing together without him being present.

"What happened?" Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose in the gesture Jack had come to recognize as the scientist in him coming to the forefront and clicking into analyze mode.

"Carter displayed skills she shouldn't have one second and then let me take her down with such a basic move a first year cadet wouldn't have had trouble blocking it." So what did that tell them exactly, Jack thought. They weren't any closer to being sure something was going on with her or not.

"Captain Carter appeared to be enjoying sparring with me," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, I noticed that. Ok, so I need to go and talk to her." Jack had all the observation he could stomach. He needed to push her. He'd asked her already if she needed to talk to him. Something was up and he was damn sure going to find out.

"Would you like myself or Daniel Jackson to accompany you?" Ok, so the big guy had noticed just how much heat had flared between the two officers of SG1, Jack thought irritably. It wasn't like he couldn't control himself. He didn't need a damn babysitter.

"I got it, Teal'c," he answered over his shoulder as he headed out of the door in search of a shower and a talk with a certain blond Captain.

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Sam finished her shower and was back in her lab in record time. She didn't want to chance running into Jack around the locker room as he came in for his shower. She'd rubbed herself on his leg! The memory turned her face hot. She tried to dismiss the way he'd responded or how good the little bit of pressure he'd applied had felt before Daniel interrupted them. Bless Daniel and his still impeccable timing, she thought with chuckle at the irony of that statement.

"Carter," Jack's voice at her door was not unexpected. Sam smiled and tried to look like things were normal. She wasn't sure what to do. Did she ignore what happened and see if the Colonel did too or did she plunge in with an apology? "I'm listening," he stated, his face was as serious as he tone. This was worse than she thought. The Colonel never pushed people to talk unless he believed there was no other choice. He was much more the silent support type of leader.

"Sir," she began, not sure what she was going to say.

"Don't start with the 'Sir, nothing's wrong', Carter," he instructed, pinning her with his eyes. "We both know that something hasn't been quite right with you since that damn mirror shocked you." She didn't know how to answer him. She needed to go through the gate and allow Jolinar to take her as a host. After that she couldn't think of any more critical missions for a little while. It would give her the time to convince Jack and the rest of SG1 that she was telling them the truth and that she was actually from the future. Well, her mind was any rate.

Sam couldn't think of a single thing to say. She didn't want to lie to him, wasn't sure if she could convincingly at this point. It had been years since she'd felt this unsure. She'd been in charge of SG1 for nearly a year, had been a trusted, often looked to, member of the SGC for nearly a decade. Being unsure was the worst part. She was a Lt Colonel, she didn't question herself or her decisions often, but she found herself there now. Maybe she should just tell him the truth and trust that she could convince him, convince them all she wasn't insane of possessed by aliens.

"Maybe you should sit out the next mission, Captain." Jack's voice was low with concern. "Give you some time off."

"No, Sir. That won't be necessary." That was the very response she couldn't afford. She knew she couldn't afford to tell him until after the mission. "Colonel, I have a few things going on, but I give you my word that there is nothing that will affect my performance on this mission." His eyes narrowed at that statement. She rushed on. "I know I have been a little off here at base Sir, but I didn't let anything affect the mission to Apophis' ship. I promise you that I am good to go, Sir."

Sam watched Jack process that statement. He wouldn't be able to argue with that one. She knew he had been pleased by the outcome of the mission. "OK Carter, but when we get back you and I are going to have a long talk and you are going to do most of the talking. Is that clear?" Except that when I get back I will be a host. She didn't allow any of her thoughts to reach her face.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir," she said sincerely. He studied her intently for a moment as he tried to assure himself she was telling the truth and that nothing dire was going on. She'd seen that look on his face many times over the years.

"As soon as we get back, Carter," he reminded her before rapping his knuckles against her work bench with a thoughtful look and heading out of the door. "Briefing is in fifteen minutes, Captain." The last was added over his shoulder as he headed down the hall.

Sam let out a relieved sigh. She'd come so close to telling him everything until he'd mentioned forced downtime. That was the last thing she could afford. As soon as this mission was over, she was going to make him listen, make him understand. She wasn't sure how, but she was the queen of 'find a way'. Grabbing her notes off of the table, Sam headed to the briefing room to meet her teammates.


	6. Chapter 6 Along For the Ride

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading and thank you to all of you that were kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. Thank you Gategirl7! This was a very hard chapter for me to write. I had to get Jolinar out of the way to move the story forward. I hope that I moved it along enough to keep everyone's attention.

AN about common question: A number of people have written me and asked where General Hammond is and if he will be in the story more. Yes he will. Actually very soon the story will expand to more adventure. Remember, the Replicators put all this in motion. If nothing is done they are going to destroy earth. Sam isn't one to sit back without a solution. So more adventure, more characters, and less Sam angst soon, but I need to get her through a few things first…..

Previously:

"As soon as we get back, Carter," he reminded her before rapping his knuckles against her work bench with a thoughtful look and heading out of the door. "Briefing is in fifteen minutes, Captain." The last was added over his shoulder as he headed down the hall.

Sam let out a relieved sigh. She'd come so close to telling him everything until he'd mentioned forced downtime. That was the last thing she could afford. As soon as this mission was over, she was going to make him listen, make him understand. She wasn't sure how, but she was the queen of 'find a way'. Grabbing her notes off of the table, Sam headed to the briefing room to meet her team mates.

Chapter 6 – Along For the Ride

"Lets go, Captain. Those gliders are coming back around!" Jack's voice was urgent as he rushed past her carrying a Nasyan child. Sam didn't reply. The sounds of weapons fire and explosions intermingled with the screams of the fleeing villagers had become background noise. She couldn't remember if she'd said anything the first time she'd been on the planet. Briefly she wondered if he'd even said those same words. There wasn't anything to suggest that events had been changed by her knowledge of the future so he probably had.

Now or never Sam, she silently thought as she steadied herself and started chest compressions on the injured man she knew Jolinar was hiding in. She remembered doing them all those years ago, remembered that she hadn't been taken over right away, that she'd tried to revive him for a few seconds before Jolinar had made her a host.

Sam fought to push her nervousness and anxiety to the back of her mind. She wasn't sure what Jolinar would pull out of her mind right away. Clearing her mind like she'd learned to do when fighting Fifth, Sam concentrated on the scene around her and her attempt to get the injured man to breathe again. She tried not to flinch when she reached to give the man mouth to mouth. Even knowing what was coming, she wasn't prepared for the pain, shock, or terror that washed over her as the symbiote penetrated her throat.

Turning to the side and gagging, Sam felt pressure and an uncomfortable slide of slick flesh moving between the tendons and bones of her neck for a precious few seconds before she had the sensation of her consciousness being swept to the back of a long, dark cave. She lost the feeling of touch in her arms and legs. Her sight dimmed and she felt like she was floating. The sensation was like drowning. Sam fought against it. She fought to find some awareness, something to hold on to.

Slowly, Sam became aware of voices. She could hear the Colonel speaking to her. She felt herself respond. Felt the new presence in her mind reach for the colonel's identity. Sam focused on him and who he was. She didn't want Jolinar to probe her mind very deeply. As soon as the symbiote had the Colonel's identity, Sam felt herself shoved to the back once again. She gathered her strength to fight forward. This is how it had been the first time, a constant battle to remain aware.

They were in the briefing room. Sam felt panic and had to push it away. She'd lost time. One second they'd been on the planet and the next in the briefing room. She didn't remember losing time when she'd gone through this before, but she'd been so terrified at the time that later she hadn't remembered everything.

"Before?" Jolinar's voice questioned. The sound was like a thought in her brain, but it wasn't her and it felt all intrusive, sending tendrils of fear spiking through Sam. The energy entity that had trapped Sam in her brain before later downloading her into the computer came to mind. She focused on the memory and the feeling of helplessness. She focused on memories of Sha're's face as the young woman stood next to Apophis, now a host and the horror that Sam felt at the time for the young woman trapped in her own body.

"I am not a Goa'uld," even disembodied, there was venom in the words thrown at her. Sam suddenly found herself pushed even further back into the recesses of her own mind. She struggled, but she could hear and see very little. She'd been right to think the Tok'ra would be repulsed by being compared to Apophis. At least it had distracted the creature from probing her mind further.

The sensation of knowing her body was moving and speaking but not being able to tell what was going on was wearing on Sam. She knew she was safer from having her thoughts probed if she stayed silent, but she felt like she was losing herself as surely as she had when she'd been taken over by the entity. She wasn't even aware of when she started struggling against the nothingness she was caught in. She fought to regain some measure of control, some measure of awareness. As she became more aware of her surroundings Sam became aware of crying.

"If you tell anyone I will kill you and them." Oh god, she was threatening Cassie. Sam didn't think, she reacted, slamming her mind against the invading specter controlling her thoughts. Pain lanced through her. Sam would have screamed if she'd been able to. It felt as if all of her nerve endings fired at once, like she was being burned alive. She retreated and vividly remembered having done the same thing last time.

Watching the little girl she considered almost a daughter cower in fear, tears streaming down her face, broke Sam's heart. How was she going to be strong enough to do all of this over again? Every time she looked in the mirror since waking up in the past, she was struck by how new and unmarred her body was. Sam suddenly didn't know if she could live through all of those scars again. The ones on the surface were not half as bad as the ones on her spirit.

Sam was tired of fighting. She had just started to allow the nothingness to wash over her when she felt a presence. 'Rest', Jolinar's voice sounded loud and pulled her attention out of the darkness she was sliding into. 'Your thoughts are jumbled and in great confusion,' the Tok'ra told her. 'We will be through the gate soon enough and I will show you that I am not Goa'uld. I will show you the importance of what we do. If you do not wish to remain blended at that time, I will do my best to find a willing host and let you go.' Jolinar paused, letting the thoughts sink in. 'I do not wish to hurt you further, but you must stop struggling.' Sam kept her thoughts blank, she couldn't risk giving anything away while the symbiote was paying such close attention.

.

.

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* * *

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.

Reaching for awareness again, Sam felt Jolinar's attention shift off of her. "Open the gate now," she heard herself bellow in the resonating Goa'uld voice Jolinar suddenly did nothing to hide. Sam was able to fight her way to the surface much more than she'd been able to do since she'd been invaded. She was aware of Jack in front of her. General Hammond's voice came over the speaker telling her to stand down. Sam could feel the symbiote fighting the drugs that Jack and an airman had pumped into her. Maybe those drugs were weakening the Tok'ra's hold on Sam's thoughts.

Sam felt as if she had control for a split second and then she lost it again. She couldn't stop Jolinar for pulling the pin on a grenade, but when she felt her body begin to slide to the floor and Jack's arms around her, Sam pushed her way once more to the surface. She concentrated on keeping a grip on the grenade until she felt Jack take it from her.

Jack only held onto her for a moment, but she could feel the care in his hold. "Hang on, Sam," he whispered for her ears only before he released his hold and allowed her to be taken away. As Sam felt herself being lifted onto a gurney, she gave in to the drugs and joined Jolinar in the darkness. Even as she lost all awareness she felt comforted. His words, his strength had been enough to remind her what she was fighting for. She would go through whatever she had to, to make sure that he and this world did not fall to the replicators.

Blackness started to recede just a bit. "You know I can't trust you." Sam could hear the Colonel's voice. It sounded like it was from a distance, like he was shouting down a tunnel. She slowly edged her way back to awareness. She could feel Jolinar's frustration. Well, that was generally the feeling people got when up against Jack O'Neill, she thought, lifting her mood a little. Jolinar ignored her.

Sam didn't pay attention to the debate going on between Jack and Jolinar. She knew he wouldn't give in. He hadn't before, he never would. Jack would do what was best for his world and the people he protected. Especially now, in the early days of the SGC, he was a lot more black and white about the choices that he made. She couldn't help the love that flowed through her when she looked at Jack, even if her vision was crowded by the creature holding her body hostage.

As she let the comfort of having Jack nearby bring her some measure of peace, Jolinar's thoughts seemed to stop, to hover over her. In that moment she realized that the alien was pushing at her thoughts. Fear laced through her. She'd been groggy coming out of the drugs that had been pumped into her blood. The symbiote obviously recovered much faster than Sam and hadn't bothered to wake the part of the mind Sam resided in. What had the Tok'ra been looking for? Had she found anything important? The questions running through her head died as suddenly the symbiote used Sam's hands to grab the bars of the cell and start shouting in Sam's own voice.

"Oh God, he's telling you the truth! Please, Jack!" Sam wanted to cry out, tell him it wasn't really her speaking. It was Jolinar. She could see what hearing his teammate's voice call him by name and begging him for help was doing to her CO. "No, Jack! Please don't leave me like this! Please!" There was nothing she could do to stop Jolinar from torturing the man she loved. Sam pulled back into her mind. She couldn't afford another slip up that would prompt the Tok'ra to look deeper into her memories and seeing Jack so obviously upset was rattling her.

Finally Jack left and Jolinar quieted down. "What will it take?" the voice rang in Goa'uld tones again, making Sam burrow down even further in her mind. She could feel her captor's anger and desperation. It barely seemed like moments of quiet before a flash of fear hit Sam, startling her. She could feel the emotions coming off of Jolinar so powerfully she wasn't sure whose emotions belonged to whom. In the next moment white blinding pain hit her. Sam felt as if she was being torn apart. Jolinar was trying to protect her from the Ashrak, but still there was no place to hide from the pain.

Fire exploded in Sam's chest, cutting off her breathing and threatening to send her body into shock. Her heart felt like it was exploding in her chest. Sam couldn't take a breath, couldn't force her lungs to work. She suddenly realized though the pain that she was in control of her body once more. Jolinar's memories assailed her. It was like a dump of too much information. It was as if the Tok'ra had lost control of all that she was in those last final moments. The Tokra's essence flowed through Sam just before they both lost consciousness.


	7. Chapter 7 Lost and Found

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

**The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me. **

AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading and thank you to all of you that were kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. Thank you Gategirl7!

Previously:

Fire exploded in Sam's chest, cutting off her breathing and threatening to send her body into shock. Her heart felt like it was exploding. Sam couldn't take a breath, couldn't force her lungs to work. She suddenly realized though the pain that she was in control of her body once more. Jolinar's memories assailed her. It was like a dump of too much information. It was as if the Tok'ra had lost control of all that she was in those last final moments. Her essence flowed through Sam just before she lost consciousness.

Chapter 7

"Colonel, the prisoner and two guards are dead." Jack O'Neill's heart stopped as the passing guard's words hit him. It couldn't be. Sam could not be lost to him, to them all, he corrected himself automatically even as he fell to his knees next to Sam's body and checked for signs of life. Thank God, he felt a weak pulse, very thready, but it was there. "Sam, Sam!" She didn't answer him, didn't regain consciousness. "Teal'c," he called over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of Sam. "Get a medical team down here right away." Don't take her away, he begged silently. He'd just begun to feel again after losing Charlie. His team was becoming his family, giving him a reason to want to stay alive. He refused to think beyond that or examine the feelings that swirled in his gut at the thought of losing the woman lying so pale and quiet before him. "Come on, Sam," he whispered to her urgently.

"Oh God," Frasier's voice was full of pain and disbelief as she rounded the door and caught sight of the bodies on the floor, but the Doctor was steady and rock solid as Jack stepped aside and watched her medical team work on Carter. He could feel Teal'c's steady, comforting presence at his side, but Sam looked bad and there was nothing either of them could do. He felt helpless as he watched the Doc try to stabilize her enough to be able to get her moved. Several times they lost her heartbeat. Jack's own heart stopped in his chest as the little doctor slammed her fist into his Captain's chest and climbed onto the gurney straddling Sam's still body. The medical team fought to resuscitate her even as they rushed to the infirmary, the two SG1 members in tow.

"Have you ever seen anyone survive the death of their snake before Teal'c?" Maybe he shouldn't have asked, but Jack needed to know if there was any hope.

"I have not, O'Neill," Teal'c's voice held regret. He didn't offer any platitudes, just his silent support as they followed behind Sam and the medical team. As the two men stepped into the infirmary, being careful to stay out of the way, the scene was controlled chaos. Jack held back as much as possible before the curiosity and worry made him step forward to get a better look at the monitors. He'd been at the bedside of enough friends and coworkers to know that things didn't look good.

"Doc?" he questioned.

"I don't know, I've never dealt with this type of situation before. The Goa'uld looks like it's dying and taking Carter with it." Doctor Frasier's words cut through him. Jack exchanged a look with Teal'c. The big warrior's solemn look did nothing to reassure him.

"Security alert, intruder in the embarkation room, code red!" the speaker overhead blared. Jack didn't consider leaving the infirmary. "Teal'c" he ordered, watching for a moment as the Jaffa nodded his acceptance and raced off. Jack had every faith that whatever the situation was, his teammate would handle it. Right now Jack's place was here, offering whatever silent support he could to Sam.

"She's out of de-fib," one of the nurses Jack didn't recognize suddenly shouted.

"She's got a pulse!" Janet exclaimed, surprise and relief coloring her voice. Jack released the breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. He couldn't hold himself back when the medics stepped back from Sam and Jack saw that her eyes were open. She struggled to look around. He was at her bedside before he was aware he'd moved. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he leaned down into her line of vision. "You did it, Sam," he told her proudly. "You won." He wasn't sure how, but she'd won when all evidence said she shouldn't have been able to. His young Captain was an amazingly strong woman.

Sam licked her lips. When she met his eyes Jack was shocked to see the depth of sadness in them. "It wasn't me." Her words made no sense to him.

"Oh yes it was. You hung in there, you beat it," he assured her, slightly amazed. Kawalsky hadn't managed to survive and not only was he older and more experienced than the captain. He had been one of the strongest men Jack knew. He wasn't sure how Carter had managed to stay alive, but somehow she had. Maybe it was something to do the changes he'd seen in her. Jack didn't like that implication and put the thought away for later examination.

"The Goa'uld gave its life for me. It saved me." No snake, Goa'uld, or whatever it wanted to call itself this time, saved a host at its own expense. Jack simply refused to believe that, but he didn't want to upset Sam so he didn't reply. She was fighting to stay awake. She was losing focus and having trouble keeping her eyes from drifting shut. He'd noticed Frasier inject something into the IV tube running into his Captain's arm. Something to help her sleep was the best thing he could imagine right now. Jack didn't move out of her line of sight. She was focused on him in between fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Get some sleep, Carter," he instructed. "There will be plenty of time to figure this all out." The drugs were taking her over. Her eyelids fluttered one last time and gently shut. He dropped his hand to her arm and squeezed, offering the only comfort he could as she drifted off. "You saved yourself, Sam," he whispered again, thinking she was asleep. "Thank you." He'd thought he'd lost her. Relief was just starting to kick in.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Her eyes were glazed when she forced them open. She must not know where she was. She'd never used his given name before. She'd never been that informal. Did she think of him by his given name and not his rank? "It's my fault Thor's weapon doesn't work on her. I let her use me. I taught Fifth betrayal."

"God, Sam," Jack stated, trying to understand and figure out a way to help her. "You couldn't do anything to stop the Goa'uld once she was in your head. There's nothing you could have done." He wasn't sure what to say to help her. "It wasn't your fault we had to destroy Thor's Hammer. Teal'c was trapped. There was no other choice. That was on me, not you." She was thinking that they could have gone back to Cimmeria and used Thor's Hammer to drive the parasite out of Sam if they hadn't had to break the anti-Goa'uld weapon to save Teal'c. Jack wasn't sure why she blamed herself or what the fifth one she meant was.

Sam looked at him confused for a moment before the drugs won out and she slipped fully into unconsciousness. "How is she?" Daniel asked from behind him. He hadn't been there a minute ago. "Was she asking about Cimmeria and Thor's Hammer?" Jack stepped back from the bed but didn't go far.

"Yeah, she must have been thinking about how we could have used it if it was working." Jack speculated. "That's Carter, trapped by a snake in her own body and apologizing to us because she couldn't figure a way to fix it."

"What is Captain Carter's condition?" Teal'c asked as he came in the door.

"Physically, she's going to be fine," Janet answered from the other side of the room, just as General Hammond entered. "Mentally, I am not sure yet. What she went through is something none of us can imagine." The doctor was right, Jack thought, looking down at the woman sleeping peacefully.

"We will give the Captain whatever support she needs to recover from this." The General's voice was sure, but Jack could see the worry in his eyes. He was sure the older man was as concerned as he was.

"I've sedated her," Janet informed them. "Right now I think we need to take this one day at a time. We don't know what the effects are going to be. This is like nothing any of us have ever had to deal with. I'm going to keep her sedated for the next 8 hours."

Jack looked down at Sam again. She looked peaceful. The pain that had been on her face moments ago had smoothed out, drugs were wonderful things when it came to sleep after you'd been through something like she just had. Now the trick was going to be for her to learn to sleep when she wasn't sedated. Jack didn't voice his thoughts. He hoped Sam didn't remember too much of her time as a host, but somehow he didn't think they were going to get that lucky. She was a strong young woman and they'd be there for her, just like the General said.

"We'll get her through this, General" Daniel stated, echoing Jack's thoughts.

"I know you will, son," Hammond's voice was reassuring. "Keep me informed, Doctor. Good work, people."

~.

* * *

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Sam watched as Janet and Daniel finished putting groceries in Sam's refrigerator. She was glad to be out of the infirmary, glad to have the reprieve from feeling like she needed to launch into her impossible story every time Jack walked into the room. When Janet released her and Daniel offered to drive her home, Sam had jumped on the offer. Teal'c riding along had been an added bonus. So much had happened. She just needed a little bit of downtime before she stepped off another cliff.

"Jack said to tell you that he will be by later," Daniel informed her, handing her a glass of tea he had just made and dropping into the chair opposite of her position on the couch. "He was stuck with some meetings."

"Thanks everyone," Sam said sincerely. These people meant the world to her. It didn't matter if she had more knowledge of them at this point then they did of her, they were her family. Unless they lock me up and throw away the key on me for being crazy when I tell everyone my story. Sam tried to think more positive thoughts, but she couldn't shake the memory of Daniel in the mental ward, diagnosed with schizophrenia caused by gate travel when he'd been infected with Ma'chello's Goa'uld killing organism. In these early days none of them were quite so open minded about the possibilities for weird scenarios.

It was Friday afternoon. The team was on downtime for a week to give her time to recover. Sam tried to relax. No one was pushing her for anything right now, not even Jack. They were all walking on eggshells with her. She'd been quiet and withdrawn the first time she'd been take over by the Tok'ra because she hadn't known how to deal with anything that had happened to her.

Her team, General Hammond, the whole SGC had supported her, and given her the time to sort things out on her own. She remembered that time vividly. Now, Sam didn't need to process an event she'd lived with for years, but she did need time to process the destruction of the SGC in her time and the prospect of reliving her own past. She needed a minute to breathe.

Sam sighed and listened to the light conversation as Janet fixed them all something to eat. Daniel helped and Teal'c hovered over her. She'd forgotten how stiff and unsure in social settings he was in the beginning. "You don't need to hover, Teal'c," she told him, smiling at the eyebrow that shot up. "Don't look at me like that, you're hovering," she said, too tired emotionally to pretend not to know him. She'd be telling them soon anyway. "Thank you for being worried about me, Teal'c. Maybe you could sit down here and keep me company while we wait for lunch?" She patted the couch next to her, more Daniel's place than Teal'c's when they hung out in her time, but she wanted the comfort.

Sam could see the skepticism on his face. She wasn't sure he'd take her up on her offer. After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision. Inclining his head in a small bow, Teal'c gave in and moved to sit on the couch. He did not look comfortable. Sam noticed a copy of a Tabloid magazine sitting on her coffee table. She couldn't remember where it had come from or who'd brought it into the house, but she knew Teal'c liked them, would like them, she corrected herself. She reached forward and picked it up.

"Ever read one of these Teal'c?" she asked, handing over the colorful print proclaiming on the outside that 'Aliens are living among us'. The memory of where the magazine had come from hit her. Cassie had been scared by it and had brought it to Sam. The poor kid had thought she'd been about to be hunted down.

"Is this one of your newspapers that O'Neill has told me about, Captain Carter?" Teal'c was examining the index.

"Sort of," she smiled as she started to explain about them. Teal'c was thoroughly intrigued. He began to leaf though until he found a story on Jell-O wresting. Sam rolled her eyes and chuckled as the big Jaffa got sucked into what he was reading and became lost to them all. He could not be distracted by enemy fire, certain death, or a nearly fatal wound, but give him women dressed in next to nothing in a vat of Jell-O and his attention was gone. At least he looked more relaxed. Sam curled her legs under her and leaned her head back against the couch.

"Hey, campers," Jack's voice from the front foyer made her heart speed up and brought a smile to her face. Sam was glad he was there. He might not know what was up with her or how much they were going to feel toward each other sometime down the line, but his presence calmed her. She had to trust that she could make him believe that her story was true. But what then, she considered. Did she go another seven years fighting at his side without being able to be with him in the way she was hungry for?

When he'd kissed her, right before he'd gone to blow up the gate room and give her time to set the self destruct and get out, the damn on her feelings had burst. She wasn't sure if she could hide the way she felt anymore. Problem was, she wasn't sure she wanted to. They broke regulations to save the planet, they'd all died, would die, to save the planet. Seems like fate owes us one, she decided, hearing Jack's words to her a few times over.

He hadn't meant those words for this situation, but she was beginning to wonder if all these years, Jack had been protecting her. Had it been her that had kept them apart? They'd blamed it on regulations, but especially after the Za'tarc incident she'd been the one to decide they'd leave their feelings in that room.

"How you doing, Carter?" Jack asked, coming to stand in front of the couch. He was dressed in jeans and a pull over long sleeve shirt. He looked so good to her. His hair was barely going grey. The grey had looked amazing on him, but having him the same age as she was, well on the inside anyway, was novel. She was nearly as experienced an officer as he was at this moment. The thought stunned her.

"Captain?" he asked again more gently, question in his voice. She'd gotten distracted thinking what it would be like to be on a more even footing with him. He'd always been her mentor, even after she fell in love with him she recognized there was still an inequality in their relationship that would be hard to bridge.

"I'm doing OK, Sir," she told him, unable to hide the speculation going on in her mind. At his inquisitive look, she jumped to a safer topic. "What did you bring?" She indicated the plastic store bag in his hand.

"I thought we'd introduce Teal'c to Star Wars." Oh God! Sam fought not to cringe. If she saw that movie one more time she would have every word memorized. Jolinar was necessary, but enduring any movie, even one as good as Star Wars, over and over was more than the universe had a right to ask of her.

"What'ch you reading, T?" asked Jack, noticing for the first time that his Jaffa buddy was not saying anything but was completely engrossed in what he was reading.

"Captain Carter has made me aware of your woman warriors who do battle in arenas of Jell-O." At her friend's words, Sam felt her face flame hot. Jack's speculative look raked up and down her for a split second, making the blush turn to heat.

"Really, Jell-O wresting, Carter," Jack put the video store bag on her table and sat down on the couch in the space between her and Teal'c. He wasted no time leaning over his friend to get a look at what the big Jaffa was reading. "Sweet," he said looking at the picture of two sticky women in various states of exposure.

Teal'c glanced at Jack's face then moved the publication between the two men and together they began commenting on pictures. Teal'c comments and questions were blunt, but ingenuous. Sam had never learned to read her friend well enough when he was doing that to tell how much he really didn't understand and how much he found amusing and was using to joke at their expense.

Either way, Sam wanted to crawl in a hole and hide but she found herself frozen. Jack's answers and comments were not innocent. Mostly they were thinly disguised attempts to poke her with a stick and it was working. She felt her body warming and starting to react to his purely male comments. It wasn't often that her CO's professional mask slid enough for him to show her his very healthy masculine side. His hip pressed against the bottom of her bare feet from where he'd sat next to her wasn't helping her stay unaffected either.

"So, Carter," Jack started, turning his attention to her. She noticed Teal'c watching her as well. "Is this interest just as a spectator or do you have something you'd like to share with the class? Perhaps a match coming up?" His look was careful innocence over wicked eyes. She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. What was it about this man that could make shut her brain off?

A quick glance at the picture of a nearly naked woman with her arm around an equally unclad opponent's neck, arching back, locked in Jell-O combat and back to her CO's face made her stomach flip and butterflies chase up her spine. Was he picturing her sticky and nearly naked? If she was reading his look right he was. Suddenly Sam could picture Jack behind her with his naked, Jell-O slick arm around her, arching her back against him. Oh God, where had that come from?

"I'm hungry," she declared suddenly, unsure what else to say. "I think I am going to see if Daniel and Janet found everything they needed to make lunch." In her haste to unfold her legs and escape the two men's scrutiny, Sam caught her foot on the afghan she kept on the couch. Jack reached out and caught her elbow, steadying her. Fire flashed up her skin from his touch.

"Thank you, Colonel," she tried to keep her voice steady, but wasn't sure if she'd managed it very well. Teal'c's face was unusually blank, even for him, and Jack's face was positively smug as released his hold on her and went back to the magazine.

As Sam escaped to the kitchen she couldn't keep back the smile that spread across her face. Jack O'Neill was flirting with her. That light, fun flirting that they'd done for years until the Za'tarc test made them realize how deep each other's feelings were. After that they'd begun to be awkward and careful with each other. From that moment on, even as they'd continued to forge an even stronger bond of respect and caring, there had been a distance between them that neither had tried to breach until years later.

Glancing at the pile of sandwiches being assembled in her kitchen, Sam realized that Janet and Daniel had everything well in hand. Offering help anyway, she wasn't surprised when the two of them wouldn't let her do anything. As they started setting out the canned soup they'd heated and grilled cheese sandwiches they'd made, Sam leaned on the counter and looked back at the couch. Teal'c and Jack were thumbing through the tabloid. Teal'c would make a comment or ask a question and Jack would leap in with a slightly off explanation of what they were looking at.

It wasn't fair. The universe expected her to save the world, several actually, again and put aside her feelings to do it. She'd had to relive Jolinar, the feeling of being invaded hadn't gotten better with time, she'd watched these friends die, some more permanently than others, but death still the same. Now she was going to have to do it all over again. Jack would have said that they were owed one. Suddenly Sam knew she intended to collect. This time around she wasn't going to just convince Jack to believe she was from the future, she was going to convince him that nothing should be left in a room unattended for long. She'd tried this whole thing once as a good, regulation fearing Air Force Officer and look at what it had cost her. Their first real words of devotion and love had been spoken moments before they both expected to die. How poetically messed up that was! It was a snapshot of their whole lives. This time around Sam Carter was not wasting time she promised herself, snagging a grilled cheese as Daniel carried the tray into the living room.


	8. Chapter 8 Sharing

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading and thank you to all of you that were kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. Thank you Gategirl7!

Chapter 8

"Nooooo!" Sam screamed, nightmares pulling her violently from sleep. She sat up quickly and looked around. The fan overhead was turning lazy circles, her TV was on the Discovery channel and the clock mounted on her living room wall across from her couch showed 6:40pm.

Sweat dripping from her, Sam pushed the afghan off of her and sat up. The nightmares wouldn't stop. One moment Jolinar had discovered her knowledge of the future and was using it to change everything. Sam was a prisoner in her own body and being taken through the gate to be tortured by Ba'al, then in the next moment the scene changed and it was Jack being tortured, but when he was put in the sarcophagus, suddenly replicator bugs were eating away at the outside. She could hear his screams but she couldn't do anything to help him.

The ring of her home phone pulled her from the couch. "Hey, Sam," Daniel's voice helped calm her. "I was going to order some take out," he told her. "Should I order for two and keep you company?" She thought about his offer. Daniel's company was always soothing, well unless he was bent on prying something out of you, then it was anything but. Jack had already checked in on her around three that afternoon and Janet had been by that morning. They were obviously taking turns.

"So you are on evening duty?" she said lightly.

"That's me, but I volunteered. We were actually fighting over you. Teal'c took it a little literally, but Janet said Jack would barely have a scar." Sam laughed in spite of herself. They were a family and she needed them. These nightmares were never going to stop if she didn't do what she knew she needed to.

"I'm ok, Daniel," she put as much enthusiasm into her voice as she could muster. She didn't want Daniel worried and feeling like he had to push to come over or check on her later. She had work to do it. "I really just want to stay home alone and get some sleep. I appreciate it though. Tomorrow, lunch?"

"If you're sure."

"I am." She was not sure how it was going to go, but Sam was sure she couldn't take another moment dreading what was going to come. She needed to get started on living and not hiding. If she had any chance of remaining free and convincing everyone that she was telling the truth, Jack was the key. She had to talk to him and there was no time like the present.

Sam headed for the shower. The cool spray made her feel human again. She brushed her teeth, put on light makeup, and carefully chose her clothes, casual, but with a little cleavage for interest and a nice blue to play up her eyes.

As she picked up her purse and keys and got into her car, anxiety started the butterflies swirling in her stomach. Telling Jack was daunting. He made her nervous she suddenly realized. She knew him so well, but he had yet to fall in love with her and in the early days of the program he had been much more of a hard ass than in later years. She was so used to having his respect and being so sure of him on so many levels that facing him when she didn't know what he was thinking or feeling about her was leaving her unsure and nervous.

She could face down an overwhelming number of Jaffa with less fear, she decided ruefully. Starting the car, Sam allowed the deep rumble of the rebuilt classic engine to sooth her. Why had she ever sold this car and bought that sensible Volvo? What had she been thinking? "I won't let you down this time baby," she told the car, lightly patting the wheel. "This is a new Sam Carter," she told the gently purring auto. "I rebuilt you, I'm keeping you." Yep, being sensible and play it safe Sam had gotten her a whole lot of lonely nights and regrets.

~.

~.

~.

~.

"Carter, what are you doing here?" Jack winced. That hadn't come out like he meant, but he was surprised to see her. "I mean, come in." he stepped back to allow her in the door. When she hesitated he could see she was debating internally. "Whatever it is, you're here now. " Smooth O'Neill, he congratulated himself. Well it wasn't as if she didn't know how bad he was with people, and besides her outfit was distracting him. BDU's hid her nicely from him. They made it somewhat easier to maintain his cool aloofness. Just a hit of cleavage was an unfair distraction, he decided, wondering if it would work on Jaffa, before quickly dismissing the notion.

"Do you have a couple of minutes, Colonel?" she asked, stepping past him. "I really need to talk to you, but if I'm bothering you…" She didn't look good. He knew that the Goa'uld in your head thing had hit her hard. That is why they were not only on downtime, but they were all taking turns checking on her. She needed to recover. He didn't know what that had been like for her, but he'd been through enough situations to hazard a guess.

"It's fine, Sam," he used her name to try to put her at ease. Jack took in her rattled appearance and uncharacteristic hesitation. He suddenly felt very guilty and neglectful. Hell, if it was one of the guys that had just gone through something like this, he'd have already invited them over and been pumping them full of beer or whatever they needed to get past it. He was her commanding officer. Helping her past this was part of the job description. It wasn't her fault he'd started seeing her as a woman and was too damn attracted to her for either of their own good. "Beer?" he offered, deciding to go with the universal gesture of good will to break the ice.

"Thanks Sir, a beer would be good." She walked past him and into the living room like she'd been there a million times, but she never had. The whole team had gotten together a few times, but so far it had been at O'Malley's or on base. Taking Teal'c off base for long periods of time had remained a bit of an issue up until about a month ago. Jack was planning to start having team nights at his house, but so far that hadn't happened. He raised an eyebrow but didn't say much. She was obviously upset. His Captain was young and she'd had a hell of a month. He cut her a little slack.

Jack turned to the kitchen and grabbed two beers. When he returned he was surprised to find the living room empty, but the back door open. She was standing on his back deck leaning over the railing. "Exploring?" he asked, coming in behind her and offering the beer over her shoulder. He'd never seen her like this. He knew that the snake was gone out of her head, but she sure wasn't back to normal.

"Oh God," she answered taking the beer and turning to him with a startled expression on her face. "I've never been here yet, have I?"

Never been here yet? He repeated the words in his head, not liking the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Carter, you're worrying me here. Do I need to call Doc Frazier?" Something was wrong. If he was being truthful with himself she hadn't been quite right since coming back from that damn mirror planet and the Goa'uld taking over her body and making her a host hadn't helped matters any.

"No, Sir," she answered, sitting down on the bench behind her. "I know you've started to notice that I haven't quite been myself lately, even before Jolinar. " She looked up at him with such a soulful look. You are not going to like this O'Neill, he told himself. "I promised to tell you the reason as soon as we got back. That's what I want to talk to you about, but I need this talk to be off the record, at least until you hear me out."

Sam took a big swig of beer, then turned that direct blue-eyed look on him he always had trouble saying no to. "You're going to have questions and you're not going to like part of what I say." That didn't sound good, but he didn't interrupt. "There's going to be science involved, Sir," she smiled and he couldn't help the answering smile that briefly touched his lips. Her eyes lit up a little and her shoulders relaxed slightly. Jack felt a little of the tension loosen. He was still able to make her laugh, they'd get through whatever it was she was going to tell him. "This is going to need to go on the record at some point, but frankly Sir, I'm not sure what to do. If you want to bring me up on charges after this conversation I'll understand that too, but I really hope you'll hear me out."

"Are you about to tell me you are a body snatching alien and not really Captain Carter?" He was kidding, but only just.

"No, I'm Sam Carter." Well that was a relief. He'd begun to wonder with the way she was building this up.

"Good; then I'm going to hear you out before I take any action. That's the best I can promise." She nodded at his words, but the look of anxiety never left her face.

"I'm not sure where to start," she told him. He'd never seen the young officer so ill at ease. His stomach rolled again. He could feel the muscle in the side of his jaw spasm and realized he'd had his teeth clenched. This was not going to be good, he thought, making an effort to unclench.

"Somewhere around that damn mirror Daniel found," he suggested. Jack wasn't surprised to see her head shoot up. He didn't react as she searched his features, just waited her out.

"I'm not the Sam Carter you think I am, Sir." His heart rate picked up at the same time as he had to fight the urge to maneuver them inside where he could get his gun. He'd known she wasn't the same, he just hadn't guessed the extent of the changes. They'd ruled out Goa'uld, but was she some other kind of alien?

"I mean that I am Sam Carter, no alien influence on board, and I do belong in this reality but somehow I left 2005 and ended up here in 1998. I tried to use a damaged Quantum Mirror in my time when we were forced to destroy the base and I was cut off from the Stargate." She paused to study his face, but he didn't say anything, just waited for her to go on. "I'm not sure if it malfunctioned because it was already damaged or because of the blast wave from the self destruct. I felt the detonation hit me as I tried to use it, but I lost consciousness in 2005 and woke up in 1998," she finished.

He wasn't sure what he thought at this point, but that she didn't feel the need to immediately come to him was disturbing. Well ok, all of what she'd just said was disturbing, but he settled for keeping to the basics for now. Why chose to hide something this important, this big? "And you didn't think that these facts were worth mentioning when you did regain consciousness?" Jack didn't try to keep the cold anger out of his voice. He'd known something was wrong.

"I was scared you or General Hammond would take me off SG1 or not feel I was fit to go through and help with Apophis. That needed to happen."

"That needed to happen…" he trailed off, sitting down next to her, making an effort to control his anger and fear long enough to keep his word to hear her out. "Did Jolinar need to happen, Captain?" he asked. She looked at him for a moment before looking away to study her hands.

"I thought about it a lot… yes, it needed to happen. I had forgotten how horrible it felt to be trapped like that. I once told you that if I'd known what Jolinar was, Tokra I mean, the experience might have been enlightening. I was wrong." He could see her hands shaking even though she had them pressed together, obviously fighting for control.

"You told me that, did you?" Jack was fighting too. How could she have kept something like this from them for so long? Was she a threat? He held his tongue. He'd been through a lot with this young officer and he'd promised to hear her out. When she looked like she was about to respond to his sarcasm, he held up a hand. "Never mind, Carter," he needed them to stay on track. There were so many questions, one subject at a time. "Why not avoid that whole snake in the head incident if you'd already done it once?"

"Having Naqahdah in my system has saved our team, all of us, more times then I can count. We make alliances because of what she left in me. When I woke up in this time, in my younger body, I still had Jolinar's memories," she stopped and seemed to gather herself again. He could see the struggle that she was having. "Part of the reason the Tokra accept us when we first meet is because they can feel her in me. I needed to have her die in me again so that the Tok'ra would feel I had been blended. They end up being good allies mostly. They save my dad, he has cancer, but I don't even know if he knows that yet." She looked away from him and concentrated on peeling the label from the bottle in her hands. If he hadn't already known how upset she was, that would have done it for him. Sam Carter didn't fidget. That was his job. Everything in him was telling him that the young woman next to him was sincere, but was she delusional? His mind flashed back to the last few weeks and the sudden poise as a soldier he'd witnessed her develop overnight.

"So in seven years, you will destroy this base? Why?" he prompted.

"We were being invaded by bugs, mechanical bugs called replicators." She didn't look at him as she launched into how they'd ended up with things so dire that their only hope was to destroy the base to save the planet. She didn't hold back in telling him that it was her fault that her mechanical replicators had the code to make the bugs invincible as well as access to the SGC computers. The words she'd said when she was under sedation came back to him. Fifth, she'd said. She'd apologized because of something around Fifth and now he knew what a Fifth was. It was a mechanical human, an evil robot.

Jack was sure that she was taking too much blame on her herself, but he didn't interrupt. He had a million questions going round in his head. First of which was, did he believe her story? Unfortunately he did. Daniel's time in the other universe had helped them save the planet from Apophis's attack. He couldn't deny that the mirror did allow some strange things to happen.

Sam paused. She ran a hand through her hair and straightened her shoulders. Jack didn't say anything as she composed herself. He studied his captain with an open mind. He'd seen the changes in her. She'd developed confidence overnight, her instincts were sharper, she was a more seasoned officer after P3R-233. Yep, she was telling the truth or at least some form of it.

"I touched the mirror in 2005. I felt like I was being compressed, then ripped apart, then nothing until I woke up with all of you years younger standing around my bed and my best friend, that I buried years ago, hovering over me as my doctor."

"Frazier is dead?" he asked shocked. She didn't go off world.

"Not if I can help it this time around." She smiled ruefully. "God, do I have that right?" She looked at him with such hurt and confusion he fought not to pull her into his arms. He settled for reaching over and squeezing her hand briefly. He was absolutely shocked when she turned her palm over and laced her fingers through his. Jack didn't pull back, but he froze.

"Captain?" he questioned, feeling the need to remind her of their situation.

"You killed yourself in front of me to buy me the time to get the self destruct activated." Her words cut through him. After all those years together, he couldn't imagine what she felt like. No, actually he could. He'd been through similar, but it made him sad that the idealistic young woman in front of him had endured it. It also scared the hell out him for the implications. Things had gotten dire enough for him to sacrifice himself to give the woman next to him the time to destroy the  
SGC. Deal with what's in front of you first O'Neill, he counseled himself.

"I'm sorry, Carter. I don't know what to say." He was at a loss. She raised tear filled eyes to him and he felt his heart constrict.

"You ordered me to make it out alive, made me promise to try." She took a deep breath like she was working up the courage for her next words. Jack braced himself. When she finally raised her head and met his eyes, he could see resolve mixing in with her sadness. "Then you kissed me, said you were sorry for not doing that sooner and told me you loved me right before you shut the blast door." He hadn't seen that coming. For a moment all he could do was listen. He felt like his body was frozen on the spot. "I watched you walk out of the control room to go and set charges in the gate room that we both knew you wouldn't be able to get away from. It worked. It killed the queen bug and brought all the others running to her defense. I had enough time to set the self destruct and get to the mirror." Jack's mind kicked back in suddenly. He pulled his hand back and stood up in one motion, before he was aware he'd even reacted. His head was spinning. He was attracted to this woman, could see where he could feel a whole lot more for her if the circumstances were different.

The circumstances weren't different. "What are you trying to say here, Captain?" He deliberately put emphasis on her rank, ignoring her flinch. "Are you saying that not only did we get this planet invaded by mechanical bugs and had to destroy the SGC, but somewhere along the line you and I broke regs too?" She stood up and closed the space between them. She stopped right at the edge of invading his space. He didn't move away, but he thought about it and that shocked him. Captain Carter wouldn't have pushed him like this, but it was becoming very apparent that the woman standing in front of him had the confidence to stand toe to toe with him even when he was in such a dangerous mood.

"I'm saying, Colonel," she answered, holding his eyes with hers. "I think we can make changes to keep the bugs from being able to destroy this planet. For that I need everyone's help. We're a good team and I know we can come up with something. I'm not sure what to do with my knowledge. I'm not sure what I have the right to change, if anything, but I think SG1 and General Hammond can figure it out together. I'm not looking forward to repeating the next seven years, but as long as SG1, my family, is with me, I can handle it. We've handled worse." She took a deep breath and took a step closer. Her body was only inches from him. He could smell her unique scent. He fought internally to keep from pulling her against him. This wasn't right. He wasn't about to trash her career and a court marshal wasn't high on his priority list, but damn she was making it hard. He needed to put them back on track and get everyone together. They needed to figure out how to handle her, the situation.

"Captain," he warned, letting the command edge come into his voice as he said her rank. Her proximity and his unruly body were making his control harder to maintain. The gruffness of his voice was harsher than he meant. He fully expected her to take a step back. He'd seen more experienced, hardened soldiers take a step back from that tone. He watched her flinch again, but she didn't back down. What now O'Neill, he asked himself. He didn't want to push her away and most definitely didn't want to have to get physical about doing so. She was still Carter, he wasn't sure how to deal with the rest of it, but she was still Carter and he didn't want to have to hurt her, but neither of them could afford the path she was pushing for.

"What I can't live with again, Jack." Oh god, she'd used his name. Her confidence was sexy as hell. This wasn't the inexperienced younger woman he'd begun to develop an attraction for standing in front of him. This was a self-assured woman that wanted him and didn't mind taking a few chances to make sure he knew it. Jack's libido hit a new high note. She had his attention. She reached a hand to him. For a moment he wondered if she was going to try to pull him toward her. When she let her small hand rest, open palm on his chest, his control slipped another notch. Her combination of confidence and tentative request was enthralling.

"What I can't do over again is more missed chances with you. If you don't want this, bring me up on charges, tell me to leave, but I want you in my life as more than just my commanding officer." He watched, frozen, as she brought her other hand up to the back of his neck and used the leverage to pull herself tightly against him. The slide of her soft hand on his heated skin kicked up the tension between them. He was already very close to the edge. Fighting himself, Jack didn't react at first when her lips met his, but when she licked lightly at his lower lip, asking without words for him to allow her in, he was lost.

With a groan, Jack slid a hand into Sam's hair and deepened the kiss. He absorbed her moan as his other hand pressed into her lower back, holding her tightly against him. She tasted exactly how he'd imagined. He knew he wasn't being gentle, he was running too hot for gentle. The best he could do was controlled angry. He hadn't been this close to out of control in years. A young, idealistic, pure woman like her deserved to be cherished in ways a man with as much darkness as he had in him would never be able to manage. He knew it, she was about to know it, but she wanted this and he was going to enjoy as much of the moment as he could until she pushed him away in shock. She'd started this. Maybe she needed to see a glimpse inside of him to frighten her into not pushing him.

Reaching again for control, Jack lightened the kiss. He didn't mind showing her enough of himself to frighten her into realizing what a bad idea this was, but he didn't want to hurt her. He eased back a little more, telling himself to break the kiss. Sam made a little whimpering noise and her short nails bit into the back of his neck.

Jack had never heard anything so sexy in his life. This amazing, strong, independent woman was whimpering with need for him. He was lost. All thought fled. He tightened his hold in her hair and angled her for better access as he reclaimed her mouth. At the same time, he slid his other hand under her shirt and quickly found the peak of her breast. Rolling the nub between his fingers, he pinched hard at the same time as he thrust his tongue deeply into her depths. He swallowed her groan and was rewarded by her tightening arms around his neck. Shock went through him, she wasn't offended or frightened by his intensity, she accepted it and wanted more. He wouldn't have to hold back with her, wouldn't have to keep his passion in check as he made love to her. That thought was heady. When Sam rocked her hips against the hardened evidence of his desire for her, what he was thinking and what he was about to do and with whom hit him hard. If you take her now O'Neill, you will never let her go. The thought crystallized in his mind sending all of his internal alarm bells to blaring.


	9. Chapter 9 Future History

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you Gategirl7 for all you go through helping me with this story! Sorry about the delay in posting. Real life is being challenging right now. I am still trying to keep to an update a week, but I realize this one when over a couple days. Thank you everyone that is sticking with me.

Previously:

Jack's control slipped another notch. He tightened his hold in her hair and angled her for better access as he reclaimed her mouth. At the same time he slid his other hand under her shirt and quickly found the peak of her breast. Rolling the nub between his fingers, he pinched sharply as he deepened the kiss. He swallowed her groan and was rewarded by her tightening arms around his neck. Pleasure and anticipation went through him, she wasn't offended or frightened by his intensity, she accepted it and wanted more. He wouldn't have to hold back with her, wouldn't have to keep his passion in check as he made love to her. That thought was heady. When Sam rocked her hips against the hardened evidence of his desire for her, what he was thinking and what he was about to do and with whom he was about to do it hit him hard. If you take her now O'Neill, you will never let her go. The thought crystallized in him mind sending all of his internal alarm bells to blaring.

Chapter 9

"Captain," Jack's tone was unmistakable. Sam flinched. His use of rank, the command edge to his voice made her even more unsure. To him they'd known each other only about a year. Their working relationship was still new. She wasn't sure when he'd started to be attracted to her. They didn't have those types of conversations. Well, not without it being life or death and a Tokra machine forcing the issue, she thought ruefully. Sam was well aware that she could very well find herself court marshaled or at very least off SG1. Colonel Jack O'Neill was no one to push and she knew she was pushing him hard right now.

"What I can't do over again is more missed chances with you. If you don't want this, bring me up on charges, tell me to leave, but I want you in my life as more than just my commanding officer." When he didn't outright reject her, Sam reached deep for the nerve to do something she'd never done before, she pulled herself against her CO and pressed her lips to his. In her fantasies he'd always made the first move, he'd been the one to kiss her; so when he didn't immediately respond, she wasn't sure what to do.

Reacting on instinct, Sam flicked her tongue over Jack's lips. Her heart raced with his reaction. Jack slid his arms around her and pulled her into his kiss. She moaned when he swept his tongue across hers. His kiss was like a drug, she felt dizzy and alive. Everything else receded away from her. When Jack tried to pull away from her, she flexed her nails against the back of his neck instinctually, not wanting to give up the feel of him quite yet. Jack tightened his grip in her hair and placed her head exactly where he wanted her as he retook her mouth. His power and the passion she felt simmering just under the surface were exhilarating. Sam could feel him letting go. He was losing control because of her. When Jack's hand settled over her breast she lost the ability to think. Her mind shut down and her body took over. She groaned at the sensations spiking through her. When he pinched her nipple sharply and deepened his kiss to take her mouth so completely she couldn't help rocking her hips against his hardness.

Jack tore his mouth from her with a groan. Without warning, he spun them both around and pinned her between his hard body and the wall behind her. He was breathing hard as he dropped his forehead down against hers. His eyes were shut as he took a deep breath. She could tell he was fighting to get back his control. That was the last thing she wanted. She reached to run her hands under his shirt, seeking bare skin.

Sam yelped when, with lightening fast speed, Jack intercepted her and locked his fingers around her wrists. He pulled her hands away from him and pinned them above her head. "What are you playing at here, Carter?" he snapped, still breathing heavily. She shivered at the intensity of his eyes. "You don't know me," he almost shouted at her. "You've got a case of hero worship gone too far, that's all." His justification startled her. Did he really think that was all this was? Then it occurred to her that he was looking at a wet behind the ears Captain, more than a decade younger than him. "I'm your commanding officer, for crying out loud, I'm not going to take advantage of you."

She almost smiled at that thought, Jack O'Neill wouldn't take advantage of anyone in that way. "I'm fairly sure I was trying to take advantage of you, Jack, not the other way around," she told him, dismissing his statement and trying to figure a way to make him understand. His eyes shut and he took several deep breaths. That statement had gotten to him, but he was still pushing her away.

"I'm not the young, inexperienced Captain dazzled by her decorated CO, Jack," she tried. "Tell me you haven't noticed any changes in me," she pressed when his face turned a bit thoughtful. She didn't struggle against his hold. She just waited him out. "I know you. You started picking up on it the moment I regained consciousness and started talking." She could see him thinking about that.

"I shouldn't have been able to get under Teal'c's defenses when we sparred. I know you recognized the move I used. You taught it to me after a particularly bad mission. You recognized that I stopped my momentum on that hit on purpose. You're right I did. I knew I'd messed up and Teal'c would know something was wrong." Well at least he was listening. She was disappointed when she felt his hardness receding as he slowly won the battle against his reaction to her. She had to convince him now. If she didn't she was sure she wouldn't get another chance. She wasn't sure she'd have the guts to push him this hard again. If he rejected her now things between them would be forever changed, and she doubted that change would be for the better.

"I've slept in your spare room many times. I can tell you how you got the stain above the bed that looks like blood but is really hot sauce." She tried to think of something else to say. She thought about mentioning Charlie, but Daniel could have told her that. "Your commanding officer when you were in Special Ops, Colonel Frank Cromwell." The coldness that came into Jack's eyes chilled her. "You blame him for your time as a POW in Iraq. You got shot and he thought you were dead and left you. You lost four months of your life." She had his attention, but she wasn't sure that was such a good thing, when he used the hand that wasn't holding hers and caught her by the throat, his long fingers against her cheekbone. He wasn't choking her, but his hold bordered on painful as he tilted her face to his and held her steady, forcing her to meet his eyes. The intensity and anger there were more than he'd ever focused on her before.

"How do you know Cromwell?" he demanded. "Have you two been working together?" Oh god, she hadn't thought of where Jack's mind might go on that one.

"No, Sir," she answered immediately. "How could you even think that?" He didn't budge. She tried again. "I've served with you for 8 years. We've spent time in tents, lunch rooms, facing death on random alien planets." She could see she wasn't getting through to him. "Cromwell had to come to the SGC when we lost touch with the surface. You weren't happy to see him. After we fixed the problem that caused the SGC to lose touch, I had to examine the surveillance tapes to determine," she hesitated, not wanting to give him too many facts. "to find more information on the initial cause of the Stargate malfunction."

He didn't react at first, but his grip on her did ease a bit. "Tell me something personal I confided in you," he instructed. She tried for less incriminating proof. She had to wrack her brain and wasn't sure what to tell him. He was such an intensely private man. What did she know about him that he probably hadn't shared with Daniel by this point in his life?

"You love the Simpsons. Your secret ingredient in your omelets is beer which is really weird, because they are actually not bad." He didn't look convinced. "Your pond at the cabin in Minnesota, that you inherited from your Grandfather, has no fish in it."

"Look at me Jack, think about what you know," she told him. "How did I know my way around the mothership? I tried to hide my knowledge of it, but I know you noticed." Jack dropped his hand on her neck and straightened away from her slightly, but he didn't let go of her arms that he still had trapped above her head. He was obviously not convinced, but still considering all of the ramifications of the things she'd said. She wished she hadn't brought Cromwell into it.

"So 2005, not a Captain," he stated finally. He didn't loosen his hold on her for a moment then he dropped her hands and braced his own on either side of her head. She allowed her arms to drop back by her side, but didn't make another move to touch him.

"Lt Colonel," she told him, unable to hide the bit of pride that came into her voice.

"Impressive." Ok, so he sounded like he believed her.

"You're a General." The surprise in his face actually made her laugh.

"See you had me until then," he told her with a tentative smile of his own.

"You weren't sure about taking the promotion. You said you'd been sticking it to 'the man' so long you weren't sure you could be 'the man'. "

"That sounds like me," he conceded. "So a Lt Colonel in the air force, you could probably kick my ass these days can't you, Carter?" His eyes were unreadable. Sam wasn't sure where he was going.

"Not so sure about that, I forgot how fast you can move." His quick smirk made Sam want to reach out to him again, but she was scared. He wasn't moving away from her and that was a positive sign she figured. She could still feel the heat and tension coming off of him. "I know what I'm asking, Jack." She didn't look away but she wanted to at that moment. He was studying her face so intensely.

"And if I get us all killed because I make a command decision based on keeping you in my bed?" His voice was as harsh as his words. He'd meant them to be. He wasn't making this easy. She'd forgotten how hardnosed Jack could be before he'd let them in and learned to trust all of them.

Sam didn't know how to answer except from her heart. "You won't," she told him with the absolute confidence of having served with him for years. "I'm not sure when things changed, but SG1 became, will become, a family for all of us." She smiled when he rolled his eyes at her use of the past tense to describe a future he knew nothing about. He straightened away from the wall. At least he hadn't backed off from her, but his hands were no longer braced beside her head. "You love Daniel, Teal'c and I like family."

"Carter," he started, turning away from her. Before he could take more than a step away, she laid a hand on his arm, relieved when he allowed her to pull him back. "Jack, please, trust me a little here," she pleaded. "We admitted our feelings a few years in and it was my decision to keep those feelings locked up in a room." God, she'd robbed them of so many years not pushing things then, when she was reasonably sure he would have been open to them. She didn't want to lose another chance even if it meant the younger Jack rejecting her now.

"Those feeling were there, even if we didn't act on them and neither of us ever changed how we acted because of them. I am not in love with Teal'c or Daniel, but I would die for either of them as quickly as I would for you and I know you'd do the same." Sam wasn't sure what he was thinking. In all their years together, she'd never learned to read his face when he didn't want to be read.

Jack didn't respond, but he reached out with both hands and cupped her face gently. Her heart raced when he slowly stepped forward, closing the small space between them even more. She didn't move as his eyes roamed her face, but when he gently brushed his thumb over her lower lip before settling his mouth against hers, she couldn't stop the moan that escaped.

Jack smiled against her lips for a moment before nipping lightly. She answered his command to open to him immediately. Sam wasn't prepared for the intensity of Jack's kiss. He wasn't in any hurry. He slowly used his tongue and lips to taste her. She couldn't think. She moaned again and reached for him, holding onto his forearms to keep herself standing upright. As intense as the kiss was, it was tenderer then she'd expected, almost as if he were allowing himself a moment before he stepped back from her.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thanks everyone that is still hanging in and reading. My update schedule was interrupted by a bout of real life. I am hoping I am back on track again for once a week. Thank You Gategirl7 for your quick turn around and amazing help!

Previously:

Jack smiled against her lips for a moment before flicking his tongue across her lips. She open to him immediately. Sam wasn't prepared for the intensity of Jack's kiss. He wasn't in any hurry. He slowly used his tongue and lips to taste her. She couldn't think. She moaned again and reached for him, holding onto his forearms to keep herself standing upright. As intense as the kiss was, it was tenderer then she'd expected, almost as if he were allowing himself a moment before he stepped back from her.

Chapter 10 - Paths

"I'm not in love with Teal'c or Daniel, but I would die for either of them as quickly as I would for you and I know you'd do the same." Sam had a point. Jack could feel himself weakening toward this woman he'd been drawn to since he met her. If he was being honest, he'd been falling for her for a while, but he'd kept that part carefully hidden from them all, including himself. Was he ready to let it out? The kind of intense passion he thought he might be able to feel for Samantha Carter was not something a man could just ignore once it was let out of the bad.

Jack stepped back and turned to stare out at his back yard, not really seeing it. He didn't know what to think. Sam was telling the truth. He was sure. He felt it in his gut. Everything she said, all the events that lead them to this moment flashed across his mind. They had a lot to deal with and the emotions running between them were not the least of it. One step at a time Jack, he told himself. Take apart the situation, one part at a time. That's how you got through a mission that seamed overwhelming. Take it apart, put it back together until you can see the path to the outcome you need.

Obviously, things had become pretty intense for the two of them or at least would become pretty intense in the coming years. God, time travel gave him a headache. He could happily have gone for the rest of his life without having experienced it. The Stargate had certainly brought more into their worlds than he could even imagine after that first trip to kill Ra. What else strange had Sam gone through in the years that she had fought by his future self's side? Jack resisted the urge to shake his head as he pushed those thoughts back. He wasn't ready to go there yet.

Lost in his thoughts, Jack was surprise by Sam's hand on his arm. Her touch was warm and made his pulse jump. Before the kiss he wasn't immune to her but he'd had himself under better control. Now his body was shouting at him to finish what she'd started.

When she gently tried to turn him back to her, Jack allowed it. He listened to her words, took in her stance and considered what he knew it must have cost her to watch him die, watch them all die. Sam Carter was a very intense young woman who took the weight of the world, sometimes quite literally, on her shoulders without a moment's hesitation. Even in her explanation of what had happened to bring her back in time, he could hear her blaming herself.

Jack could only imagine what it had been like for her to relive the last few weeks since she'd woken up. His admiration for the young officer in front of him added to his attraction to the woman. God, his world had become strange. Daniel had them fighting and winning against alien invasion ships an alternate reality had warned him about.

Now Sam was here from the future suggesting that they fight mechanical bugs. He had almost dismissed Daniel's warning and it had nearly cost every life on Earth. His instinct said she was telling the truth so he had no choice but to fight this battle too. He'd protect this world like he always did and put himself second, but for just a moment Jack figured the world owed them both one. He'd get back to saving the world after he figured out what to do about the amazing woman offering herself to him.

Jack heard Sam questioning him, was aware she was waiting for an answer, but he wasn't ready to think beyond what was right in front of him yet. She had been so out of reach and so much something he'd like to allow himself to explore, he wasn't willing to let this chance go.

Hell it wasn't like his life hadn't been about keeping huge secrets most of his adult career. His clandestine life had cost him in so many ways. It would've probably cost him Sara even if they hadn't lost Charlie. He'd loved her, but all the covert missions he couldn't tell her about had shut her out of a huge part of his life. It had been eating away at their relationship almost from the moment his life had become so top secret.

Sam and he wouldn't have the problem of wondering what the other did for a living. The secrets they'd be keeping would be shared. Those secrets could get them both thrown in Jail, but risk hadn't fazed him in years. He was honest enough to acknowledge that his life was about adrenaline rushes and dangerous choices. He'd just never considered that Samantha Carter had faced those types of choices. He'd never expected that she'd want to put her career on the line to be with him.

Captain Carter didn't. She didn't have the same frame of references that would allow her to know what those type of secrets cost to keep. He'd flirted, he couldn't help himself, but he'd kept enough distance between them to protect the young officer. The woman in front of him was not an inexperienced officer he felt so inclined to protect from his choices.

Decision made, Jack reached out with both hands and cupped Sam's face gently. She didn't move, but her eyes dilated and he could feel her pulse jumping where the edge of his palm touched her throat. He slowly stepped forward, closing the small space between them even more. She didn't move as his eyes roamed her. Confusion and speculation warred on her face.

Sam frowned slightly. She was obviously trying to figure out what he was thinking. His eyes were drawn to her lips. She had an amazing mouth he decided, brushing his thumb over her lower lip before settling his mouth against hers.

Jack smiled against her for a moment when she whimpered low in her throat. He loved the way she reacted to him. He took his time with her, tasting her, not deepening the kiss until she stepped into him more and moaned again, involuntarily it seemed, like she couldn't help herself. With an answering groan he increased the pressure of his mouth on hers, flicking his tongue across her lips and was rewarded by Sam opening to him fully. Her hair felt like silk against his calloused fingers, her taste and the sounds that she made threatened to overwhelm his resolve to keep things fairly light.

Jack needed to think straight and taking Samantha Carter to his bed right away was not the way to accomplish that. Rushed things tended to go badly, burn out. Jack found himself hoping for more than a quick burn out. Was that all she wanted? He found himself at a loss. This was so like Carter to tackle a situation, but so unlike her at the same time.

"God, Sam," he said, breaking the kiss and allowing his forehead to rest against hers as they both fought for breath. "You gotta help me out here." He lifted his head from hers, but didn't remove his hands from her hair. He liked the feel.

"What else is going on here? The world is ending and you're worried about sex with me?" She straightened and pulled out of his reach so fast that every male instinct was shouting at him to grab her and not let her go. Way to go O'Neill, he chided himself. He'd managed to state that about as badly as he could, but he needed answers.

"Sex I can get anywhere, Jack," she informed him in clipped tones. "I am in love with you. I know you are not there with me, or at least I don't think you are. We didn't, don't, exactly talk about our feelings." Yeah well, that seems to be changing, he thought, not interrupting her. "But I know you are attracted to me." Sam's voice shook slightly. If he didn't know her so well, he wouldn't have caught it.

This was costing her. Her color was about as red as he'd ever seen it. He wasn't sure, if the situation was reversed, he would be able to put it all on the line like she was doing. She was brave and amazing and determined to fight for him. The thought humbled him, but he didn't let his reaction show. She took a calming breath and continued, "I'm asking you if you want to explore the possibilities between us with me. I don't see that anything at work has to change and I don't expect it to. I want to take one day at a time and see what happens."

Sam's eyes turned glassy, sudden tears threatening, but she blinked them away. "When I watched you walk away from me before I set the self destruct and thought it was the last time I was ever going to see you, I had too many regrets."

"This just seems a little out of character here, Carter," he persisted waving an impatient hand between them. He was still having trouble believing he could be this important to a woman like her. "You have never put your personal life before your work." That was bothering him and he could tell by her flush as the color rearranged itself on her face, that she wasn't completely comfortable with it either.

"I've never watched you die, blown up the SGC, and been responsible for an alien force finding a way around Earth's defenses," she pointed out, suddenly looking much older than her years, or at least than the years he expected her to have. "Waking up to find everything reset on a path that leads to death and disaster has a way of changing a girl's prospective on things." He'd give her that. Hearing her blame herself for the codes being stolen didn't surprise him either.

Jack didn't say anything. He let her collect her thoughts. "I figure that when we leave this house, everything is going to change. I might end up being held by the NID or called crazy and locked up in some mental ward." Not gonna happen Carter, Jack dismissed silently. He wasn't going to let that happen. Jack's gut twisted. Her fears made more sense than his confidence. She might be right and he might not be able to protect her.

Sam held his eyes as she stepped back into his space, but she made no effort to touch him. "I have put aside my feelings for you, and you for me, to do our jobs for years now. At least from my point of view," she told him. "I didn't intend to do this right this moment, but I was scared if I didn't say something now, I wouldn't have the time or the nerve to do it later."

"Ok," Jack accepted, "I can…"

"Besides," she interrupted. "You did order me to live for both of us." There was a twinkle in her eye. Jack stopped mid thought.

"You're saying I ordered you to seduce me," he questioned, eyebrows rising. "Bit of a stretch there, Carter, don't you think?" He was amused. He liked Sam's confidence and ability to tease him. He liked that she gave as good as she got and while her respect was still there, she had lost the hero worship. She was seeing him as a man. Jack inhaled sharply. Again he was face with facts. This was not Captain Carter, the young, slightly awkward officer he enjoyed teasing and flirting with. This woman he could fall very quickly for.

"Less of a stretch than Mr. Burns as Goa'uld," she pointed out calmly. Jack froze.

"Now see, Burns makes sense," he defended after a minute, completely convinced now she was telling the truth. That one statement could have only come from him and he'd only formulated the theory recently.

"I'm sorry, I just can't see it," Sam's face was the picture of someone who had fought a particular battle often, but was still willing to indulge her opponent. Jack laughed, some of the tension sliding away.

Sam smiled and her face relaxed also. She recognized Jack believed her, truly believed her. He could see it in the way some of the tension lifted from her as well. Decision made, Jack sobered. "Robots you say?"

"Replicators," she answered slowly, her face betraying her confusion at his shift.

"You have a plan?"

"We'll need the rest of the team and General Hammond." She responded carefully.

"We'd better call the guys and get started on figuring out how to kill these evil robots and how to keep you from becoming a lab rat," Jack stated, turning to pick up their discarded beer bottles in one hand. The look he caught on Sam's face as he turned back to her stopped him in his tracks.

"Yes, Sir," she stated, not offering any argument, but her sorrow clear on her face. She thought he was rejecting her offer he realized. Having made it once, she wasn't going to argue further. Jack was struck again with how brave the woman in front of him was.

"It's Jack, Sam," he corrected both her address and her misconception. "At least until the guys get here, whenever we're off duty, it's Jack." An evil thought struck him. "Although, don't get me wrong, a few well placed sirs at the right time, after we've gotten to know each other better, I wouldn't object to," he finished, waggling his eyebrows for effect. Her quick laughter and the radiance of her smile made him feel like he'd just won the lottery.

"I'll try to remember that, at the appropriate time, Jack," Sam assured him. The blush was still on her face, but it was there now because he'd put it there and he found him body beginning to harden. What have you got yourself into Jack, old boy? He wondered. "You call the guys, and I will get us fresh beer," she suggested, taking the now warm bottles from his hands and heading inside like she felt as at home there as he did.

Jack was half way through dialing when he snapped his phone shut as a thought hit him. Had she just given him an order in his own house, the way only a woman can? God this was going to get complicated, he decided.

Don't think about it, he told himself. She might know more about him than he did about her, but she'd admitted that they'd never pursued a relationship before so they were both on equal footing there. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed belatedly, opening his phone and dialing as he watched her walk away. The sway of her hips almost made him rethink his decision to move along slowly.

She's worth taking time and doing this right O'Neill, he reminded himself. That didn't keep his mind from replaying their last kiss until Daniel's voice on the other end of the phone interrupted and killed the fantasy he'd started running in his head. After giving instructions to Daniel to pick up Teal'c and meet at Jack's house, he hung up and went in search of Sam.


	11. Chapter 11 Impossible Choices

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading and thank you to all of you that were kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. As always… Thank you Gategirl7 for being such an awesome beta!

Previously:

"I'll try to remember that, at the appropriate time, Jack," Sam assured him. The blush was still on her face, but it was there now because he'd put it there and he found his body beginning to harden in response. What have you got yourself into Jack, Old Boy? He wondered. "You call the guys, and I will get us fresh beer," she suggested, taking the now warm bottles from his hands and heading inside like she felt as at home there as he did.

Don't think about it. He told himself. She might know more about him than he did about her, but she'd admitted that they'd never pursued a relationship before so they were both on equal footing there. "Sounds like a plan," he agreed pulling out his phone and dialing as he watched her walk away. The sway of her hips almost made him rethink his decision to move along slowly. She's worth taking time and doing this right O'Neill, he told himself. That didn't keep his mind from replaying their last kiss, until Daniel's voice on the other end of the phone interrupted that pleasant line of thought. After giving instructions to Daniel to pick up Teal'c and meet at Jack's house, he hung up and went in search of Sam.

Chapter 11 – Impossible Choices

By the time that Daniel and Teal'c were sitting in Jack's living room and Sam had finished telling them her story, she felt mentally and physically drained. Daniel was asking all the questions she expected of him, Jack was throwing his two cents in there often enough, but Teal'c worried her. He had yet to say much of anything, even for him.

"In the time that you have come from we know each other well, Samantha Carter?" Teal'c asked, his deep voice silencing the room as he got up and came to stand over her. Teal'c was one of the best people she knew and someone she depended on, but Sam suddenly found herself nervous. He had been listening and he wasn't at the point of believing her yet. She wasn't sure if he had stopped addressing her as Captain Carter because she'd told them she was no longer a Captain in the future or if he didn't yet equate her with the teammate he was coming to trust.

"We know each other very well, Teal'c," she answered.

"Then you will no doubt be able to tell me details of my life that I have not yet revealed." He was quietly waiting for her answer.

"Wait, Teal'c," Daniel's voice was so young. Sam sometimes forgot how young she and her fellow scientist had been when the program first started. "You are a private person. How can you be sure you would have shared anything with Sam that wouldn't be common knowledge anyone could get?"

"I'm kinda with Daniel on that one, big guy," Jack agreed.

"No, its ok," Sam interrupted. "Teal'c and I have gotten pretty close. We all have, will, be close in the years to come." Sam considered the year and tried to think of things she and the Jaffa had talked about over their years together in the future. "A Jaffa woman we met once told me that she was surprised how much respect you seemed to have for me considering Jaffa men's view of woman in battle. That seemed strange to me and I asked you about it later. You told me that when you decided to follow Colonel O'Neill in rebellion against the false gods, you'd had no idea how different the Tauri were from the Jaffa." Sam smiled, remembering her surprise at Teal'c's answer. "You told me that at first you had simply followed the Colonel's lead and treated me with respect as a team-mate because he did, but that fighting by my side had changed your mind about woman as warriors." She blushed at the intense scrutiny her big friend had her under.

"What was this woman's name?" She was afraid he'd ask that. She couldn't tell him about Ishta without telling him about the future. She hated not knowing what might be damaging.

"You haven't met her yet and I don't want to mess up the timeline any more than we have to. I can say that I think she becomes almost as important to you as Shau'nac."

"Shau'nac, buddy?" Jack questioned. "That's a name I haven't heard of before. Someone special?"

"Indeed." Teal'c bowled his head slightly and surprised Sam by touching her arm before he turned back to take his seat.

"Sam," Daniel's face was so hopeful, Sam's heart plummeted. God, he was going to ask her about Sha're. Theories and numbers told her that she couldn't change everything, but the pain she'd watched her friend go through over the years screamed at her to ignore the science. She didn't know how to answer. Sam's stomach clenched. "Do you know where my wife is?" The hope in his voice broke her heart. There was a part of her that had known this was coming from the moment that she'd realized she was in the past and that she had to tell her team.

"I don't know where she is right now," she answered honestly.

"But you will know," he finished. It wasn't a question. He was smart and he made intuitive leaps as easily as most people breathed and Daniel had read between lines she hadn't known how to erase.

How was she supposed to answer that? At what point did she make so many changes she became God, dictating what should happen and what shouldn't? If she saved Shar're then how did she explain to them that she shouldn't save Skaara right then because at the trial to free the boy from Klorel SG1 and the Tollan will need Lya's help to save the Tollan world from Goa'uld takeover. Did she save Shar're before or after the young woman had give birth to the Harcesis Shifu and what about Daniel? Did she save him instead of letting him save Jonas's world. Would that mean that Daniel never ascended? How would those two events change the course of the universe? How many people would die that shouldn't have? Would they be able to defeat Anubis without Daniel's ties to Oma.

"I can't make the decision by myself Daniel and neither can you." She hated the pain she was causing her friend.

"You're already changing things by being here." He was right, she was.

"Daniel, go easy here," Jack leaned forward and set his beer on the coffee table. "Carter's trying to feel her way through all this. I want to save Sha're and Skaara as much as you do, but we have to take this one step at a time."

"I understand that, Jack," Daniel's voice was impatient and conveyed that he wasn't going to let this rest.

"I don't know how to do this," Sam snapped, interrupting the push she saw coming from her young friend. "If I start changing everything, deciding everything, then what makes me any different from the Goa'uld? I'm not God. I don't get to decide life and death."

"You are deciding the fate of your planet, Samantha Carter," Teal'c stated. "You can do no less." He turned to address the others in the room. "I believe that burden is enough for this time." Sam was shocked. Had Teal'c just told Daniel and Jack to leave her alone?

"Wow," she couldn't help the sentiment. "Thanks, Teal'c." Jack's face was very thoughtful. She couldn't read the look that passed over him or the answering look from Teal'c. It didn't matter how long she knew the men in her life, she still didn't get some of their male bonding moments, especially Teal'c and Jack's 'way of the warrior' moments. It didn't help that Teal'c was so stiff with them all at this point. She'd gotten used to his insightful warmth and caring.

Daniel's eyes tore at her. He wasn't saying anything, but his grief was a knife in her conscience. "I'm not saying we won't try to save her or Skaara, Daniel. I just think that we need to take things slow. What if we save them, and by doing so, some event or action Apophis would have taken is changed and that changes the fact that we do win this war eventually? We can't know what consequences our actions will have." She could see his mind click in as he considered her words."

"I'm so sorry, Sam," Daniel's voice was sad. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone." Sam was too choked up to answer beyond a nod. The silence in the room was deafening as they all were lost in their own thoughts.

"God, Sam," Jack said finally, breaking the silence. "I didn't look at your knowledge that way. You're going to face situations like letting Jolinar take you again nearly every time you step through the gate. We're all going to be watching you for reactions even when we don't mean to. This is going to be hell for you." He stood up abruptly and slammed his beer down on the table. She was surprised by the worry openly displayed on his face. "When the NID finds out about you, I'm not sure what Hammond or I can do to protect you," he stated flatly. She knew that. Sam didn't want to admit it, but she knew it.

"Sam's knowledge will make her too important to the SGC. The President won't want her taken away from us. We'll need her out there helping us." Daniel's defense was naive. They all knew it, even he knew it.

"The NID will wish to control Samantha Carter," Teal'c stated. He knew what it felt like to have that branch of the government trying to control your life Sam knew. "We must not allow that to happen."

"With you there Teal'c, but that's going to get a little sticky," Jack pointed out. They were all trying to protect her. Sam felt better than she had since waking up and realizing her dilemma, but she was scared. They were all right. The NID scared her, the thought of being locked up and experimented on scared her, but more than that, the thought of letting the Replicators win scared her worse.

"We need to act quickly to stop the Replicators," she finally voiced her thoughts. "We have a window of opportunity, but it isn't very big and I'm not sure of the exact timing so we need to move quickly on this one thing. After that I think we need to someone way more qualified than me to help us with the knowledge I have."

"And who would that be?" Jack's exasperation showed in his voice. She didn't blame him. On Earth there wasn't anyone that knew more than she did about time travel at this point. Sam hesitated. At this point SG1 was also not used to turning to alien cultures for help and Jack still had a very suspicious military mindset, not that he'd ever lost that, but by this point he had not mellowed like the CO she was used to dealing with in the future. She didn't even think Teal'c's surprising support of her would last through her next statement.

"The Asgard, I need to talk to Thor and maybe Kvasir," she stated. "We need to go back to Cimmeria and contact the Asgard."

"Say again, Carter," Jack snapped.

"The Asgard are spoken of in Jaffa legend," Teal'c added.

"We destroyed Thor's Hammer on Cimmeria," Daniel pointed out. "Why would Thor help us if there is even a Thor still in existence?" Jack raised an eyebrow and swiped his hand in Daniel's direction indicating his agreement with the archeologist's questions.

Sam sighed. She knew this wasn't going to be easy. She launched into an explanation of who Thor was and how the Asgard were good friends they could contact by going to the Cimmeria and accessing the Hall of Might. "Kvasir is an Asgard scientist that specializes in time dilation. Thor has mentioned him and I met him once. I think they are key to stopping the Replicators and maybe they can advise me on how to handle the knowledge that I have."

Jack was the first to speak. "I'm all for meeting and being friends with aliens in possession of big honking spaceships capable of defeating the Goa'uld, Carter, but how are you going to convince them that you are telling them the truth and get them to help us?"

She'd thought of that. "I don't think it will be that hard. Sometime around now they put a time-dilation device on a planet and trap the replicators on that planet. They think it is going to slow them down and stop them, but it actually gives the Replicators the time to become much more advanced. The first step is to stop that." She took a deep breath and steadied herself for the next part of her plan.

"What else, Carter?" Jack asked. "I can tell by the look on your face there's more. That plan sounds way too easy." He could read her so easily. Was she doing the right thing with this plan? She had so many questions. She had so many reservations about telling them about the plan, but she didn't think springing it on them while on Thor's ship would be a good idea either.

"Ok," she had to do this. "I need your help, Sir, and I'm not sure how to ask you to do this. It almost killed you twice." I don't want to lose you again, she thought, barely keeping the words from leaving her mouth. He must have read her thoughts in her face. A shadow passed over his face before he pushed himself away from the arm of the couch he'd gone back to leaning on and came to face her.

"This won't be the first time I've put myself on the line for the planet or for my team, Captain," his use of her rank was intentional. He was trying to remind her that nothing could change for them on the job just because they had decided to pursue a relationship outside of work. She didn't miss his message but he was wrong. She wasn't hesitating because of the talk they'd just had, she was hesitating because of her memories.

I can't do this to him again, Sam thought, trying to come up with an alternative plan. She was about to ask him to download the Library of the Ancients into his head again. Even though it would be the first time for him, her memories of watching him be frozen and possibly lost to her in the Ancient outpost in Antarctica were too fresh. She didn't want to ask him to do this.

"What is it you need me to do?" Jack prompted a little more forcibly.

Sam wanted to reach out to him, wanted to explain that she had gone over every other option in her head and had no idea how to make this plan work any other way. "Sir, we need the knowledge of the Ancients. They are the race that actually built the Stargate system. They have a weapon capable of destroying the Replicators." She looked at Daniel, but for the moment he seemed to be content listening. "On P3R-272, there is a device that can download the knowledge into your head. The second time you had the knowledge downloaded into your mind, you told Thor how to build the weapon." Sam launched into an explanation of how it worked and what would happen to him as the knowledge took over his brain. She explained that the Asgard could remove the knowledge from his brain when he had found the information he was looking for.

"I'll do it," Daniel volunteered. "The knowledge of the builders of the gate system, that would be worth whatever risk…"

"You can't," Sam interrupted. "You will be the only one that can understand the Colonel when he starts speaking Ancient." She considered a theory she'd spoken of with Thor a few times. "We also think the unique makeup of the Colonel's brain helps him process the information."

"Unique, Jack?" Daniel almost squeaked.

"Unique, me?" Jack's voice overlaid the younger man's.

Sam smiled. She loved these guys. They didn't quite have their act down yet, but they were perfect in her eyes. Telling them had been the right thing. They were going to get through this. She had to concentrate on destroying the Replicators. Everything else she would deal with after that. Sam thought about Dakara. Sam didn't say anything about the weapon on Dakara quite yet. She was hoping not too. How much would things change if the Replicators were too widely spread for the Asgard to use the ancient weapon and she had to tell them about the super weapon on Dakara? Could she program it again without her dad and Baal? Stop getting ahead of yourself Carter, she counseled. One step at a time, break it down and move forward.


	12. Chapter 12 Fantasies

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: So my intent to post once a week has been, as my children would say, an epic fail. I think I've worked out the parts that were causing me problems. Hopefully updates will start coming a little more regularly. Thank you everyone that is still reading and those of you still commenting. As always, thank you Gategirl7 for your amazing beta skills and insightful comments!

Previously:

Sam smiled. She loved these guys. They didn't quite have their act down yet, but they were perfect in her eyes. Telling them had been the right thing. They were going to get through this. She had to concentrate on destroying the Replicators. Everything else she would deal with after that. Sam thought about Dakara. How much would things change if the Replicators were too widely spread for the Asgard to use the weapon? What if they ended up needing to use that weapon? Could she program it again without her dad and Baal? Stop getting ahead of yourself Carter, she counseled. One step at a time, break it down and move forward.

Chapter 12

Jack thought about the decisions he'd made over the years, the lives he'd taken and the ones he'd watched be taken, unable to help. He had never felt more concerned than he did right now for the woman explaining to him how he needed to have his brain sucked by an expanding ancient library. She had the fate of more than just their team, or their world, in her hands. She had knowledge that could change the balance of the universe as they knew it, the Universe, for crying out loud. Not only was their world view changing, but she was about to put herself and them in the hands of an alien he knew nothing about.

He watched the struggle that Sam was going through. He had to stop himself from grabbing her and demanding she start over and tell them again why they should be doing any of this. He'd been stupid enough to think she'd been holding back from telling him what she needed him to do for their plan to work because she'd been thinking like a woman in love and not a soldier, but it only took the first few sentences of her explanation for him to understand why she'd hesitated.

"And how do I know that after this Ancient library starts taking over my brain that I will be able to tell these aliens how to build a weapon that will kill these Replicators?" That statement was wrong on so many levels and it wasn't even the thing that concerned him most. "For that matter, how do you know this Thor will help at all?"

"There is no way to know, O'Neill," Teal'c spoke up. "Just as there is no way to know that you or your world can help rid this galaxy of the Goa'uld," he finished solemnly staring Jack down. When the big guy had become the protector of Carter, Jack wondered irritably. He seemed to be firmly on her side. The image of the Jaffa touching her shoulder and inclining his head flipped across Jack's mind. He didn't like the feeling he got from it and dismissed it immediately.

The last person in the world Jack would have to protect Sam from was Teal'c. Jack found that he wanted the chance to discover who she was as a woman and person now that she'd offered him that chance. He didn't want to share the private side of her with anyone. The growing closeness he felt developing between Teal'c and Sam almost felt like watching two friends share an inside joke and feeling the odd man out. Get a grip, O'Neill, he scolded himself, feeling a little shocked and foolish for the feeling. God, he had it bad and they'd only just kissed.

"Ok." Teal'c was right, Jack acknowledged. "If we're going to do this, we had better let Hammond in on it."

"Is that safe for Sam?" Daniel asked. "Shouldn't we do the same thing we did when we got the information that Apophis was going to attack?"

"We're going to need the SGC's support for this one, Daniel," Sam pointed out. She met Jack's eyes and held them. He could see her fear. "I'm just not sure how to tell him without sounding crazy and getting myself locked up." Yeah, you and me both Carter, Jack thought, but kept his doubts to himself. She had enough to deal with.

"That's my job," Jack assured her, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "Ok, so we all get a good night's sleep and I meet with Hammond in the morning." He smiled at her as he added, "Hammond ever confided anything to you no one now would know? Any secret tidbit we can use to convince him we're not all stark raving nuts?"

Sam face lit up. He recognized that look. She had an idea. "I think so, but I better save it for him." Jack nodded. He'd have to trust her on this one. He was going to have to start trusting her in a whole new way. Hell, he'd already begun if he was being honest with himself. This plan of hers sounded pretty farfetched but yet he found himself all in. When had his life gotten so weird, he wondered.

"I better get Teal'c back to base," Daniel declared, standing.

"Thank you," Sam said, sincerity and gratitude evident in her voice. Standing, she hugged Daniel and turned to Teal'c, easily moving into his arms. Jack had to smile at that one. The fierce former First Prime barely covered his surprise and slight awkwardness before opening his arms and returning Sam's hug. Jack didn't expect her to turn to him and include him in her thank you hugs.

Sam hesitated for a moment before stepping to him, as if waiting to see if he would allow the familiarity. It suddenly occurred to him that she was saying her goodbye and getting one last hug in before she followed the guys out. She must believe that there was a good chance that she'd be taken into custody of some type tomorrow. Jack didn't want to admit it, but she wasn't completely wrong.

"Stay," he whispered in her ear as he returned her embrace. Jack stepped back and released her from his arms, just as the other two men on his team had done, but he didn't miss the slight quickening of her breath or the relief that crossed her face before she covered it. He was surprised to feel relief as well. Jack hadn't realized just how apprehensive he was about his discussion with Hammond and everything that was about to play out. He hated feeling out control, especially when he could see a potential train wreck coming.

As he started to close the door behind Daniel and Teal'c, Daniel stopped and turned back for a moment. "I don't think Sam should be alone tonight. This has got to be killing her. Should I offer to go over and stay with her?"

"I've got it covered. If I can't get her to stay here, I'll call." The younger man's face didn't betray any surprise or curiosity for once, just acceptance. Jack didn't want to lie to his team. That was something he'd have to discuss with Sam as well. They worked too closely together for the rest of the team to not pick up on them. Lost in thought, Jack watched Daniel say something to Teal'c before both men got into the car and backed down the driveway.

"Jack," Sam's voice was tentative. "You ok?" He should be asking her that.

"C'mere," he said simply, not wanting to discuss anything at all. She didn't hesitate to fill his arms. Her scent and warmth soothed him in ways he hadn't expected to feel. He could feel Sam relaxing in his embrace. When he brought his hands up to gently rub circles on her back, she arched like a cat and shivered. "Sweet," he didn't mean that to come out loud. "Feel good?" he asked, settling on a fairly safe, preemptive subject change.

"Better than good," she answered, her voice almost a purr.

"Should I start calling you Kitten?" he asked, bracing himself in case the comment caused the violent reaction he was half expecting. Sam leaned back out of his arms, her eyebrow doing a very good imitation of Teal'c.

"Whatever you want, Sweet Cheeks." Her answer brought a chuckle bubbling to the surface. He really could get used to her teasing him. It felt strange and so right all at the same time.

"Mutual assured destruction?" he questioned. Now it was her turn to laugh before finding her place against his chest again. He found he didn't mind.

"I'm scared, Jack," she confessed.

"We've been through worse," he offered, hoping she didn't ask for examples. "I mean I am assuming in the next 6 years we'll have gone through worse, right?" He leaned back and brought his hands up to cup her face. Sliding his fingers into her hair, he used his thumbs at her temples to gently stroke. She closed her eyes for a moment, obviously enjoying his efforts.

"I like your touch," she said simply.

"Your skin is so soft. I thought it would be," he hadn't realized what he'd said until her eyes popped open.

"You've wondered about my skin?" The slow smile that was spreading across her face made his heart speed up. She looked pleased with herself. Not ready to give her the upper hand so easily, he decided to change the subject. Sliding his thumbs in smaller circles on her temple, he was rewarded by her slow moan of appreciation as her eyes slid shut. He used that moment to dip his head and catch her lips.

Jack swallowed her slight 'Oh' of surprise and deepened the kiss. She tasted so good, felt so right in his arms. Sam responded by stepping closer into him and sliding her hands up around his neck. He dropped his arms from her face and slid them down and around her back.

Jack liked the feel of her arms heavy around his neck and the slight bite of her short nails into his shoulder through his t-shirt. He didn't think she was aware that she was kneading his shoulder with her nails almost like a kitten using her claws to prompt him to move closer. He really was going to have to be careful not to call her kitten.

Jack broke the kiss and slid his lips around to her sensitive pulse point. He nipped lightly, then licked her skin. She moaned low. The little noises she was making in response to his attentions were driving him nuts. She was pushing the flames of his desire pretty high. It wouldn't take much for him to become out of control. The thought of losing her tomorrow if the meeting with Hammond did not go well cut through him, making him pull her tight against him.

"We'd better get some sleep," he said finally, glad his voice was steady. It was a few more moments before he released her to move out of his arms.

"Can I borrow something to sleep in?" she asked, the color in her face rising slightly. He wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or shyness, but he liked it. She'd borrowed a shirt of his once to sleep in off world when she'd managed to fall into a pond and soak everything she'd owned. He'd had this fantasy about seeing her that way, but without Daniel's sweatpants on the bottom.

"Of course, I'll find you a shirt," he answered, proud of his nonchalant voice. Carter basically naked, clad only in one of his shirts! One fantasy down, about a hundred to go, he thought. Now if he could just keep her out of custody and they could destroy the killer replicating robots maybe he'd have time to do more than sleep with her dressed in his shirt. "I don't want you alone tonight," he began only to realize that it wasn't just that. He didn't want to be alone either. Aliens, killer robots, ancient libraries taking over his brain, Jack was shocked to realize he wanted her comfort as much as he wanted to offer his to her.

As Jack went about finding her a t-shirt that fit his fantasy, but kept her comfortable, and dug out a new toothbrush from his cabinet, the changes the last few hours had brought hit him. Here he was getting ready to go to bed and sleep next to his second in command, the woman he'd been slowly developing inappropriate feelings for, held in check mostly because of her age and inexperience. Now suddenly she wanted him, wanted to date him, explore the possibilities with him and had a confidence he found almost irresistible.

"Carter, are you sure about this?" he questioned as he settled on the bed and waited for her to finish in the bathroom. "I mean, not the mission part," he knew he was fumbling. Feelings weren't his thing, but he needed to ask this. "I mean the you and me part," he went on, gesturing between them even though she couldn't see him through the closed door. "Not that I'm complaining, but…" As Sam opened the door and came into view, Jack's voice died in his throat. She was wearing his shirt as he'd expected, but his fantasy did not live up to the real life picture of Samantha Carter standing in nothing but his shirt.

The over-large garment hung to mid thigh and the thin cotton showed her nipples pebbled and hard. She was beautiful beyond belief. His body leapt to attention, causing him to jump off of the bed and race for his chest of drawers next to the door. Fishing the first pair of sweatpants out of his drawer he could find, he didn't look at Sam as he thrust them toward her. "Put these on," he ordered, not able to keep the Colonel tone out of his voice.

"It's safe, Jack," she called a second later. He turned around to find her already settling into bed, his sweatpants covering her amazing limbs from his view. He could still see the shape of her breasts through the thin cotton, but he solved that by climbing in next to her and switching off the light quickly.

Settling back against the pillow, Jack reached an arm out and pulled Sam against him. She was such a mixture of confidence and shyness when it came to him. The more he considered her as a woman rather than a subordinate, the more he found her intriguing in ways he'd never expected. Jack found himself very much looking forward not just to the possibilities, but the exploration of them as well.


	13. Chapter 13 Generally Speaking

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you whoever nominated Continuum Interrupted for the Gatefic awards! As always, thank you Gategirl7, beta extraordinaire!

Previously:

Settling back against the pillow, Jack reached an arm out and invited Sam against him. She was such a mixture of confidence and shyness when it came to him. The more he considered her as a woman rather than a subordinate, the more he found her intriguing in ways he'd never expected. Jack found himself very much looking forward not just to the possibilities but the exploration of them as well.

Chapter 13 – It was a good year.

Jack watched General Hammond's face. He couldn't read the man sometimes and now was one of those times. They'd taken a walk topside at Jack's request. Somehow they'd ended up in the trees alongside the security fence. By the time he was done explaining Carter's dilemma and her idea for a mission to save their collective asses, the older man had fallen completely silent.

"And you are completely convinced of her identity and the validity of her statements, Colonel?" This was the second time the general had asked that type of question. He knew how his commander felt. It was pretty hard to believe.

"Yes, Sir," Jack replied. "I think you should speak with Carter and see for yourself, but both Teal'c and I noticed changes in her during the mission to destroy Apophis' ships." He went on to explain a little about his suspicions and her actions that had aroused both his and Teal'c's qualms. "You can't fake experience, General." Jack turned to meet the General's eyes. "Yes, Sir, I am completely convinced that she is from the future."

Hammond sighed heavily and leaned back onto a large rock ledge behind him. "Her knowledge is going to make her a target," he said simply. Jack turned and leaned back against the same rock.

"I've thought of that," he agreed. "Any ideas how we can keep her with us? We need her to stop these Replicators."

"And beyond that, Jack," Hammond's voice carried a resignation Jack didn't like. "The NID is going to argue that she can be more of an asset telling them what is coming than she can be here, going through the gate. They are going to argue that she has knowledge of events outside of just the SGC." He'd thought of that, he just didn't know what to do to counter it. "I can talk to the President, pull in some favors, but I better do it in person." Hammond stood up from the rock. "I want to go and talk to Captain Carter myself, then, if I'm convinced, you can drop me off at Peterson."

"Yes, Sir," Jack followed his commanding officer back downstairs. He was glad to have the General at least open minded enough to talk to Carter. At the beginning of the conversation it hadn't been looking too good.

Having made arrangements for the flight, the two men signed out and were headed out of the SGC in under an hour. As Jack drove to Sam's house, he thought about their discussion before he left the house this morning. She was to go back to her house, pack a bag and she'd be coming to stay with him, he just didn't know how to tell the general.

"Jack, this isn't an order, but I think it would be wise if, until I get back, you have the Captain stay with you or your team stay with her. Even if we get the President's support, I am afraid the NID will try to seize her." It was scary how much the General's thought mirrored his own, but then again the two men had both been in the Air Force and dealing with extremely sensitive and top secret situations for a very long time. Their experiences were from two different sides of the coin, but it all lead to the same jaded view of the workings of politics and secret agendas.

"I will try to keep this information between the President and I as much as possible, but things have a way of leaking out. Even if it doesn't right this moment, it's going to leak when the President informs the Joint Chiefs or someone else that must be brought into the loop."

As Jack pulled up in front of Sam's house, there was an oppressive silence in the truck. Neither man knew if they could protect Sam. Jack knew his commander was even less sure than he was.

Jack pulled out his phone as he watched the general disappear into Sam's house. It only took a couple of rings for Daniel to answer his phone. "Hammond is talking to Sam now," Jack told the young man. "I have to take him to the airport, but I should be back at the house in the next two hours. You want to grab Teal'c and head to my house?" There was a pause on the other end of the phone that surprised him. "What's up, Daniel?"

"I know what was said last night. I know how important it is for us to destroy this enemy that we have never heard of and is years away from becoming a threat to us." Daniel's words hit Jack like a ton of bricks. His friend wasn't dealing with things quite as well as he'd thought.

"Where are you Daniel?" he asked, his voice not inviting any argument.

"I'm at home," was the quiet reply. The young man did not sound good.

"I'll be there right after I drop Hammond off."

"Thanks, Jack." The relief in Daniel's voice was palatable. Jack hung up the phone wondering what he could say to help. He understood Sam's reasoning, mostly, but there was a part of him planning how to convince her that Skaara and Sha're should be the next priority on the list.

.

.

* * *

.

.

Sam had never felt so nervous around General Hammond in her life. He was one of the best commanders she'd ever had. She respected him more than she could say and right now her future, the future of their world, rested in his hands. They needed him. The SGC to make their plan successful, but more than that, she needed him to find a way to protect her.

They'd been talking for nearly a half hour. She'd just finished telling him about the trip to the past in 1969 and her meeting with his younger self. The older man hadn't reacted. He hadn't given anything away.

"That event is what convinced me to take this posting," he finally responded. "If that doesn't happen…" She could see the concern and confusion in his face. Time travel was never an easy thing to figure out. Wow, Sam thought, rerunning that statement in her head. She'd thought her life was full of weird before, nothing had prepared her for this.

"You're right, Sir," she agreed. "That event still has to happen." She paused, standing up from the couch she was sitting on and paced toward her back door. "We have a very small window of opportunity here I believe." She had thought through this over and over. "I have another few days of downtime and then you put us on light duty for a little while."

She smiled as she turned back to him and caught the look on the General's face. He hadn't told them they were on light duty yet, but she figured that he and Jack had already decided that or would soon. It was what had happened before.

"In the end, we do defeat the Goa'uld and free the Jaffa. That still needs to happen. I don't want to change things more than we have to." She thought for a moment. "The next few missions we go on, I've tried to remember every detail from them that I can." God, she hoped she hadn't missed anything, but who could tell what small detail had made a difference somewhere. "I don't see how the next few would make a huge difference. They mostly were us getting used to being out there, making contact, but I can't be sure. I want to keep things as much the same as possible." Sam listened to herself and suddenly it all seemed so overwhelming. She sunk into the chair opposite of Hammond's.

"How did you do it, Sir?" she asked. "How did you keep that knowledge about us going back in time and not give it away, not do more than hand me a note?" She was so at a loss. She'd always believed that knowledge was power. It was always to be desired and the more that you knew, the better off you were. But now the knowledge of the future felt like the heaviest burden she'd ever carried.

Sam was surprised when the General reached for her hands and held them between his. He didn't say anything at first, gathering his thoughts. "I only had a small bit of knowledge. It left me feeling optimistic for the future, but impatient for it." He paused and held her eyes. "That knowledge also gave me hope and strength through the dark times. I knew I'd be a General and I'd serve with amazing officers like the ones that I'd met that day in the truck. Whatever sacrifices I needed to make to get to that goal were small in comparison to sacrificing that future."

Sam couldn't help it, she wrapped her arms around the surprised man's neck and hugged him. Those were the most comforting words anyone had spoken to her in a very long time. It took a minute for her to realize that he was patting her back soothingly.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, Sir," she stammered, pulling away and wiping at the tears that had escaped her tight control.

"It's alright, Captain," he assured her. "You have every right to be struggling with this. I just hope I helped you some."

"You did, General." He really had. He was right. Whatever she had to sacrifice to see the Replicators defeated was worth it. "What now?"

"Now I go to the President and I try to assure that you are not taken into custody by the NID or otherwise detained." He stood and pulled her up. "You've got to be prepared. I can't be sure what is going to happen from here on out, but I will do my best." She didn't like how worried he seemed. Jack had been worried too. She could tell he was being much more positive than he felt. She decided to hedge her bet some.

"Sir, in the future, we deal with the NID quite a bit more than we are now." She wasn't sure how to put this. "If my knowledge of those dealings would help…" she trailed off, not knowing how much she should say. Hammond's thoughtful look showed her he was thinking through things as well.

"We'll hold that in reserve for now," he stated in that calm manner he had that she always found comforting. "The surest way to make you a target is to show you are a threat. It might work against us more than for us." He waited until she nodded and then turned for the door.

"Oh," he said as if it was an afterthought and turned back to her. "Colonel O'Neill tells me you are a Lt Colonel in the time that you came back from." She nodded, not sure where he was going with this.

"He also tells me that you have the poise and bearing of an experienced combat officer." Sam was a little taken aback by that. She could feel herself blushing. Jack had said that? She dropped her eyes from the General's. "I'm assuming that you trained under O'Neill and remained his second that whole time?"

"Yes, Sir," she affirmed.

"Said you were leading SG1 and he was a General in command of the facility."

"You were promoted, Sir," she said quickly. Was he wondering if he'd been killed? The General held up his hand to stop her from continuing.

"Thank you for that, but I think we agreed the less of the future the better." The General took a few steps to her. "I'm very proud of you Sam," he told her. "I know your Dad would be too if we could tell him. This situation would crush a lesser person. You have become the officer I knew you could be."

Sam felt her throat close and her eyes begin to water. She didn't know what to say. She just nodded. She might even have said thank you, but she was too emotional to remember as she watched the General climb into Jack's truck and drive away. She had to have faith, but if for some reason things didn't go their way, she had a plan B. She'd learned from the best and as soon as Jack got back she'd see what he had to say about her back up plan.


	14. Chapter 14 Timing

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you to everyone that is still reading and especially to all of you that were kind enough to take the time to leave me what you thought of it so far. Thank you Gategirl7!

Previously:

"Thank you for that, but I think we agreed the less of the future the better." The General took a few steps to her. "I'm very proud of you Sam," he told her. "I know your Dad would be too if we could tell him. This situation would crush a lesser person. You have become the officer I knew you could be."

Sam felt her throat close and her eyes begin to water. She didn't know what to say. She just nodded. She might even have said thank you, but she was to emotional to remember as she watched the General climb into Jack's truck and drive away. She had to have faith, but if for some reason things didn't go their way, she had a plan B. She'd learned from the best and as soon as Jack got back she'd see what he had to say about her back up plan.

Chapter 14 – Timing

Jack knocked on Daniel's door, still not sure what to say. He didn't disagree with the archeologist's feelings. He was surprised when Daniel opened the door. He looked like he hadn't slept. His clothes were rumpled like he'd tossed and turned in them and his face was unshaven. For a man who loved to talk, the silence with which he opened the door and then turned around and went back to sit on his couch screamed volumes.

Following him in, Jack closed the door behind him before heading to the kitchen to put the beer he'd bought in the fridge. Taking two cold bottles out of the six pack before depositing it in the nearly empty refrigerator, Jack found himself a place on the opposite end of the couch.

Daniel put the untouched bottle down almost as soon as it had hit his hand. Jack didn't say anything, just picked up the bottle and put it back in the young man's hand. "Atch," the noise made Daniel look at him with the bottle still poised to be set aside for the second time. "If we've got to do feelings then we both have to have beer."

"I don't like beer, Jack."

"I don't like talking, Daniel." That worked. After a minute of silent staring, the bottle was tipped back tentatively. Jack watched his friend make faces at the bottle before taking a bigger sip. Yep, distraction working, Jack decided. Daniel took another sip before putting the beer back down on the coffee table. Sitting back, the young man glanced at Jack before picking the beer back up. Another convert, he decided, before pushing the conversation.

"She didn't say we can't save Skaara and Sha're," Jack pointed out.

"Teal'c leapt right in there," Daniel stated, surprisingly. "I've never seen him shut down a conversation like that." The beer in the young man's hand was now almost empty. Jack got up to get them both another one.

"Yeah, that one caught me a little off guard," he confessed as he put the fresh bottle in Daniel's out stretched hand. "I haven't given up on either of them, Daniel. You have to know that. We prioritize missions. Saving them just to bring them to a world that is going to get destroyed in a few years time doesn't make sense. Hell, Carter said these Replicators nearly destroy half the galaxy. We take care of the threat, and then we go from there."

"You don't think you'll have any trouble convincing her to tell us?" Jack hadn't said he wouldn't have trouble, but he didn't want to point that out just yet. He was saved from answering as the scientist continued on. "And what if she says no and Teal'c backs her? What if the NID takes her? We could lose both of them. I feel like I've already lost Sam. She was becoming my friend. She has been the one telling me the whole time not to give up hope. If anyone can find my wife and bring her back it's you and Teal'c."

Daniel took a steadying breath, "How could she go from supporting me to holding back the one thing that means more to me than this whole damn planet? Is it because she knows something she doesn't want to say right now? Is Sha're already dead? Sam knows, Jack, she knows and she's right in front of me!"

Jack jammed his hand through his hair and ruffled it back and forth as if the motion would help him unscramble the thoughts in his head. He'd never met a more compassionate, empathetic person than Jackson. Knowing that there was someone right in front of him with the ability to tell him what was happening to his wife, and possibly save her, had to be driving the earnest young man out of his mind.

"I get it, Daniel," Jack agreed. "Sometimes I want to shake her and make her tell me about Skaara and Sha're. I wasn't able to save them. I let you and them both down." He stood up from the couch and paced away, trying to gather his thoughts. "I can hear Skaara calling my name in that way he has and telling me it hurt when I shot him on that damn ship." Daniel nodded and seemed to relax some. Maybe it was enough that someone else understood how he felt. Jack hoped it was, he didn't have a lot else to offer at the moment.

Jack put his beer down on the counter and turned back to Daniel. "Carter says we have a very small window of opportunity to stop the good aliens from doing something that inadvertently helps the bad aliens."

"Stop the Asgard from activating a time dilation field that gives the Replicators time to advance past what the Asgard can counter," Daniel corrected automatically. Well, he was feeling a little better, Jack decided.

"Yeah, that," Jack agreed. "Right now that has to be our priority. It's not going to be easy. We all need to be focused and working together. We may not just be fighting the bad guys; we might be on our own as well." He waited to see if his friend would get his point. Daniel nodded halfhearted. "Hang in there, Daniel," Jack encouraged. "I need you focused. I need all of us focused. We save the world one more time and then, Daniel, I have every intention of getting the information we need to save Sha're and Skaara or a damn good reason why not. Now get yourself together, go and get Teal'c and be at my house in time for dinner." That gave the young man four hours to get himself together before he had to go and get Teal'c. At Daniel's nod, Jack paused to squeeze his friend's shoulder before heading back to his house.

* * *

"Not gonna happen, Carter." Sam was about as frustrated as she knew how to be with the man calmly dismissing her 'Plan B'. She'd forgotten how self-assured and unyielding Jack had been in the early days. Until he'd learned to trust them all, he'd still been shut down in a lot of ways. Even more than that, he'd been very sure in that cocky superior way that only a highly decorated, often autonomous, Air Force Colonel can be. Sam understood it. The man had been making life and death decisions, often far removed from his chair of command, for years. He was rarely wrong, and when he was, he shouldered the full brunt of the decision. He was responsible for his team. Officers like Jack O'Neill were few and far between, but understanding his reasons for dismissing her idea out of hand didn't make it any less easy to swallow.

Sam had been trying to convince him for the last thirty minutes. They'd been sitting at his place, on his back deck, ever since he'd gotten back from taking General Hammond to the airport. Daniel and Teal'c were going to come by later that evening, but Daniel was working on something and wouldn't be available until that evening. If that wasn't an excuse, Sam thought, wondering if he was still upset with her for not telling him everything about Sha'ra that she could. She couldn't blame him. She couldn't blame Jack either for his skepticism about her, but she had to find a way to get through to him.

"Sir," she began, not trying to remember to call him Jack. This was a military discussion and he was being too pigheaded for her to feel kindly towards him right now anyway. "You told General Hammond that you believed me." Maybe a new tactic would work with him.

"I do believe you," he stated, his voice showing his irritation. "What does that have to do with you going to Chimera by yourself if the NID tries to take you or Hammond can't get approval for this mission?"

"You met those people, Sir, I'm not in danger from them and the Goa'uld are weeks away from coming," she started. "Getting us all through the gate will be harder this time. I put in more controls and failsafe measures after we got back, remember? One person going through while the rest of SG1 helps make that possible makes more sense."

"And if things don't go your way and you don't get Thor to help you or can't contact him?" Jack threw back at her, "then what, Captain?" Sam had no trouble reading Jack's body language. He was really aggravated with her, couldn't understand why she would think this plan was ok.

"Captain," she stated, trying unsuccessfully to keep the frustration out of her voice. "That's the problem, Jack. You're thinking like Colonel O'Neill talking to Captain Carter." She held up her hand when he frowned and she saw the look on his face. "Hear me out, please." She gathered her thoughts. How did she make him see her differently when to him she looked the same as she always had? Knowing something was fact and letting those facts really sink in were too different things.

"You will always have more experience than me, Sir. You are the most brilliant tactician I have ever met and I mean that from my 2005 perspective. You have a way of cutting through things and seeing a big picture most of us can't. I have worked at your side, as your second for six years. From my point of view, I've lead SG1 for nearly a year. For years now I've been the one that you and everyone else on this base turn to when the question is science. Since you were promoted and put in command of the SGC, I have been second in command of this base. I am the officer I am today because of you."

Sam let that sink in for a second, before she jumped the rest of the way in. "My idea has merit. You would not hesitate to be the one to go through that gate by yourself if you had to and in this case I am more qualified to go on this mission than you are."

The thunder clouds were in the look and stance of the man in front of her. She braced herself. Sam knew she'd forced an issue that was going to keep coming up between them. "Colonel," she hesitated, changing tactics. "Jack, I need you. Both professionally and personally, I need you. I can't do this without you. I am asking you to please try to keep an open mind and trust me just a little. At least trust me enough to talk to me about this and not dismiss me unilaterally."

That brought him up short. Jack studied her for a moment before standing up and pacing to look out over his back lawn. She knew better than to interrupt him when he was processing something he didn't really want to. "And I am doing that," he finally stated. "I'm thinking that a wet behind the ears Captain with very little combat experience would be in way over her head."

"Good thing I'm not a wet behind the ears Captain. Good thing you've been training me for years." She met his eyes when he came back to her and sat down on the low table across from the bench she was currently sitting on.

"So plan B," he said, leaning forward and bracing his forearms on his knees. "Care to share?" Sam smiled as she launched into an explanation. It was a simple plan. If it became apparent that she was going to be detained or the mission was not approved, she would need SG1 to help her get past SGC security and get through the gate on her own. She'd get to Thor and explain the situation. Sam had no doubt that he'd help them. The replicators were too big a problem, even now. Thor wouldn't pass up a chance to gain knowledge that would help defeat them and she had enough knowledge of him and the Asgard to convince him. She was fairly sure of that. As things went, this wasn't the craziest plan they'd ever gone with.

"Then, after I've gotten Thor's help, he and I will come and get you and the rest of the team." Jack reached for her and laid his hand on her knee. The unexpected touch made her pulse jump. He picked up her hand and started playing with her fingers. It was such a Jack thing to do, to fiddle, but he'd never used her as the object of his fiddling. Was this what it was going to be like getting to know him on a personal level? She found herself intrigued by the glimpse into the man.

"You're putting a whole lot of trust in this Thor, Sam." He was right, she was. "Are you sure that he will help?" His look was so intense, yet outwardly he was being very casual. She knew he was really trying.

"I am," she stated, her voice slightly breathless at his continued touch. He smiled at the hitch in her voice. Sam loved that smile. Alpha wolf and mischievous little boy all rolled into one. "He's a good person, being," she stammered at his raised eyebrow. "You know what I mean," she defended.

"Last time around you were the one that made friends with him first. You called him your 'little buddy'," she added. Jack nodded, but didn't say anything right away. It was times like this she wished she was better at reading him. She'd thought she'd gotten better over the years, but she was just coming to realize that it wasn't as much her getting better at reading him as it was Jack letting them in more as time went by. The man playing with her fingers, head bent as if he was studying the nails in the deck boards, was impossible to second guess.

He still wasn't saying anything and it was making her nervous. Finally he looked up at her before reaching out with his free hand and brushing his knuckles across the soft skin of her neck. She shivered at the delightful mix of sensations that ran across her nerve endings. His other thumb was brushing over the pulse point on her wrist where their hands were still joined.

When she sighed in pleasure, Jack used the opportunity to lean in and kiss her. The kiss was slow. He played with her lips lightly, slowly getting to know her taste, her feel, and allowing her to know his. Having him kiss her so casually, touch her, was surreal. Sam moaned and slid her hand along his neck, playing with the hair there. He shivered at her touch and deepened the kiss.

Jack O'Neill was an extraordinary kisser. Sam could kiss him forever, she decided while she was still able to think. When he slid his hand around her back and pulled her to him, she allowed him to guide her to sit across his lap, straddling him. He broke the kiss and moved to her neck. She leaned in and ran her tongue along the edge of his ear. He moaned against her neck. She loved that she could make him react with a touch.

Pressed against him in the position she was in, she had no doubt that he wanted her. When she moaned and rocked her center against his answering hardness, his quick intake of breath followed a groan, before he locked his hands on her hips and held her still. His hold was almost painful. "The guys will be here soon," he told her, his voice not quite steady.

Sam let her head fall to his shoulder. "I know," she answered, slowing her breathing. "What if they take me tomorrow, Jack?" He started to tell her that everything would be ok. She could see it in his face, knew his body language, but something stopped him.

"Stay with me tonight, Sam?" Jack asked. "After the boys leave, stay with me." He didn't try to assure her. She found that much more frightening than her own thoughts, but she respected the fact that he seemed to feel she deserved the truth from him. Sam didn't think Colonel O'Neill would have done that for Captain Carter. He'd have tried to protect her from the knowledge and taken everything on himself. He was starting to see her differently.

"Think we can convince them to make it an early night?" she joked. He chuckled.

"Think if I pretend to fall asleep right after dinner?" he asked.

"You could always put hockey on," she suggested. "That should have them out of the door in no time." Sam jumped and squealed when he swatted her across the butt sharply.

"Disparaging such a time honored sport is off limits, woman." The look on his face was evil and mischievous. She was surprised at the thrill that went through her. She liked the playful side he was showing her.

"Did you just call me 'woman'?" Sam questioned incredulously.

"Kitten?" He tried again. Sam rolled her eyes and reached up to fasten the blouse button he'd managed to undo in his exploration. She hadn't noticed at first the amount of cleavage he'd managed to uncover. He was good. "Hey, no need to do that," he complained.

"One demerit, O'Neill" she explained. "I have three more buttons if you'd like to keep going."

"That's playing really dirty, Carter," he complained. The look on his face was such a mixture of disappointment and pout that she lost it. Dissolving into laughter, Sam slid her arms around the strong column of his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. It felt good when his arms came up and he held her tight. Sitting across his lap, wrapped around him and him around her, Sam felt safe for a few moments.

"I love you, Jack," she whispered into his ear. They'd agreed to take things slow, but if everything went south soon, she didn't want to have the regrets she'd had as he'd died protecting her and the mountain.

"I'm right behind you, Sam," he told her back. Her heart leapt a little, up until now he hadn't mentioned much about feelings. So he was falling for her too. She was surprised when he leaned away from her and took her face in his hands. "I'm not prepared to lose you." His voice was gruff. "Plan B is a go, but only as plan B and only on my orders. Is that understood, Carter?"

She could only nod. He looked at her for a moment and then pulled her back against him and tightened his arms around her. "Just because you survived once, doesn't mean you will again. I'm still your commanding officer and I'm still responsible for you. I am ordering you not to take any chances and to not get dead." She smiled against his neck.

"Yes, Sir," she answered. "No chances, no being dead," she repeated for him.

"Good," he declared, releasing his hold on her and pulling back so that he could see her face again. "Now that we have that out of the way, what do you say to joining me in the shower? By my calculations, we should have a good hour left before the guys arrive."

Before Sam could answer, the sound of a doorbell ringing and Daniel's voice calling Jack's name floated to them through the open sliding door. "Dooh," Jack exclaimed, dropping his head to her shoulder dramatically. "The one time in his life Daniel is early for anything!" He lamented as he helped her to climb out of his lap.

Sam couldn't help but laugh at the annoyed expression on Jack's face as he calmly called to Daniel that they were out back. "Hold that thought," Jack informed her. "Well, I mean if you were going to say yes," he reconsidered. "Were you going to say yes?" His voice was very hopeful.

Sam chuckled again. "I'm looking forward to it," she answered.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed as Daniel and Teal'c rounded the corner.


	15. Chapter 15 Dishes

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading and thank you to all of you that were kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. Thank you Gategirl7 for all the help! For some reason this was a very hard chapter for me to write.

**Author Question:** I am thinking about trying something new… for anyone that has read any of my longer stories, they don't tend to stay "T" rated. The rating on this one is about to change. I wasn't able to keep an upcoming chapter "T" rated. Since I didn't warn upfront that the rating might change, if there is any interest in me writing a chapter that sort of glosses over the Jack/Sam intimate moments and posting both the "T" and "M" rated chapter let me know. I will give it a shot. I don't want to offend anyone that is interested in the story, but doesn't read above "T".

Previously:

"Good," he declared, releasing his hold on her and pulling back so that he could see her face again. "Now that we have that out of the way, what do you say to joining me in the shower? By my calculations, we should have a good hour left before the guys arrive.

Before Sam could answer, the sound of a doorbell ringing and Daniel's voice calling Jack's name floated to them through the open sliding door. "Dooh," Jack exclaimed, dropping his head to her shoulder dramatically. "The one time in his life Daniel is early for anything!" He lamented as he helped her to climb out of his lap.

Sam couldn't help but laugh at the annoyed expression on Jack's face as he calmly called to Daniel that they were out back. "Hold that thought," Jack informed her. "Well, I mean if you were going to say yes," he reconsidered. "Were you going to say yes?" His voice was very hopeful.

Sam chuckled again. "I'm looking forward to it." She answered.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed as Daniel and Teal'c rounded the corner.

Chapter 15

Sam looked over at Jack and Teal'c engrossed in the hockey game. She'd have been offended by Jack's lack of enthusiasm for their later plans if he hadn't winked at her as he put in the tape of the game. The game was an old one and wouldn't be running late or interfering with their plans. Jack was so predictable. He just had to prove to her that at least one of their teammates would share his love of hockey.

She'd forgotten that Teal'c liked hockey. Jack was obviously pleased with himself for proving his point, but Sam had a funny feeling he'd left her and Daniel to their own devices for another reason. Her fellow scientist was withdrawn from her and moody. He was trying to hide it, but he'd never been good at hiding his emotions, and in his early days with the team he'd been even worse. Trouble was, Sam had a pretty good idea what he was upset about, but no idea what to say to make it better.

"Daniel, are you interested in the game?" she asked, deciding that they needed to get things out in the open at the very least. For a moment Sam thought he was going to claim interest, but either he wanted it settled too or he knew there was no way he'd be able to sell that lie. "I'm going to go out on the deck. Keep me company?" she asked. He hesitated. Looked at Jack for a moment, but the Colonel was not paying any attention. Well, he was pretending not to pay any attention. She hadn't missed how his body had stilled and his waving of the beer as he cheered had become out of sync with the game as she'd waited for Daniel's answer.

Daniel didn't say anything, just nodded and got up to follow her out. "I'm going to get a beer Sam, do you want one?" His statement brought her up short. He was upset. Daniel didn't like beer.

"Sure," she agreed. "Thank you." Take your time because I have no idea what to say to you, Sam silently added as she made her way outside. She leaned on the rail and looked out over the yard. Jack's house seemed very remote when she was standing there, but she knew it wasn't. Dropping her head into her hands, Sam froze. Out of the corner of her eye she'd caught a movement. It wasn't much, but she knew she hadn't imagined it.

Could the NID or some other agency already be on to them? Hammond had been in Washington for hours now. It was possible. When a deer popped out of the trees and took off, she sighed. God she was getting jumpy.

Daniel took that moment to appear with the beer. He handed one to her and stood on the opposite side of the porch leaning against the railing. He really was upset with her. His body language was completely off. Sam took a moment to study him, trying to think what to say. Daniel tilted his beer back and took a long drink. "Since when did you start liking beer?" Ok smooth Sam, she scolded herself. That hadn't been what she meant to say, but it had slipped out.

"It's a recently acquired taste. What did you want to talk to me about, Sam?" Daniel wasn't giving any slack. She hadn't really expected him to. He'd been even more intense in the early days than the man she was used to dealing with. Wondering at how much she'd changed in those years, Sam dismissed the thought and considered her words.

"You're upset with me," she stated.

"What do you expect, Sam," he interrupted, taking a step toward her. "I thought you understood. You've been the one encouraging me not to give up. Now you have all the answers I've been searching for. You could save them and you won't." Wow, he didn't pull any punches. His face was flushed and his stance aggressive. He was ready to do battle.

Sam clenched her fists and mentally counted to ten. She had to fight not to snap back. Did he think she didn't want to save Sha're the pain of being imprisoned in her own body? Did he think she wanted to hurt him? She wanted to shout that he should know her better than that. He should trust her. He should know how much they have fought for and how dangerous changing the timeline can be, but he didn't know any of those things.

That sudden bit of insight took her anger and left her feeling old and exhausted. The man standing with her didn't know her well enough to trust her the way she was used to. They hadn't lived and died together more times than she could count. They were friends in his here and now, not the bonded through fire family she was used to.

"When I walk around the SGC, I see so many that I've lost." Daniel blinked as he processed her words. "God, Daniel, I want to stop them and tell them on such and such a day, you need to not go through the gate, or you need to do this or not do that. Every one of us, SG1 I mean, have died or been presumed dead a time or two."

Sam dropped down on the bench. Her legs felt unable to hold her as the weight of what she was doing settled on her shoulders. "I don't want any of my family, my co-workers, my friends to die or be hurt. I want to save everyone. I want to right all the wrongs that happened the first time I lived this." Some of the anger had left Daniel's face and he was looking thoughtful as he listened.

"Time isn't set in stone," she remarked. "I know that. I know all the theories that say if I change anything, no matter how small, I could disrupt the timeline." Sam thought through her next words. "Before the Replicators become such a problem, we win against the Goa'uld," she told her friend. "Most of the System Lords are dead. The Jaffa are free." Maybe it was a bad idea to reveal this much, but Daniel being upset and feeling betrayed by her wasn't an option either. "One of our first big victories is killing Apophis. It takes us a while, but we do a lot of damage to him." I blow up a sun. She smiled at the thought of all the times Jack had teased her about that. She wondered if he'd get the chance again.

"We help unite dozens of worlds, allies. We save countless people, we save worlds." Daniel's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything. Sam let him digest that.

"By contacting the Asgard and trying to help them destroy the Replicators now, we are already changing things, aren't we?" Daniel's voice was calmer, his body language easing up. He was right. Sam didn't deny it.

"I know," she agreed. "But I don't think we have a choice. Leaving things the way they are now means the Replicators destroy this world and probably most of the universe as we know it." Sam wasn't sure how to explain something she was so unsure of. Being unsure in and of itself was not a feeling she was used to. "I am hoping that if we get back on track and we're careful that we can minimize any other changes, but I would like to discuss this over with Thor and possibly one of the other Asgard scientists I've worked with."

She couldn't tell if she was getting through to him. He was listening, but she wasn't sure what he was thinking. "Honestly, Daniel, at this moment I have no idea where she is. No games, no play on words, I don't know where she is." Daniel set his beer down on the railing and leaned over it, staring out across the yard. He still wasn't talking. This wasn't like him. Had she lost him? Was this unforgivable to him? She remembered when Teal'c had shot Sha're to save Daniel's life. He'd come close to not forgiving Teal'c. They'd almost lost him then and SG1 was much closer knit at that time then they were now.

"You're holding something back," Daniel's voice was barely audible. He turned back to her. The sadness and fear in his eyes broke her heart. "I can see it in your face when you talk about her. Is she dead, Sam? If she is, I need to know, please."

"No, she isn't dead, Daniel, but you're right. There is a lot I'm not telling you. There's a lot I'm not telling anyone. Even with the best intentions, telling you, or anyone else, too much could make things worse." She couldn't be responsible for more destruction.

"God, Daniel, I'm making this up as I go along. I'm scared I'll say the wrong thing or change the wrong thing. Because of my curiosity and my good intentions, I've already been to blame for blowing up the SGC and maybe the destruction of this world. Because of me, Replicator Carter has the code that let her become immune to the anti-replicator weapon. "

Daniel dropped his head. He didn't move for a moment. When he did he pulled her into a hug. Sam felt something let loose inside her. "She doesn't have that code yet, Sam. From what you've said, she doesn't exist yet." Daniel was such a good friend. Each of the three men that made up her team had such a unique, necessary part in her life that even one of them being at odds with her unsettled her. She needed all of their support to get through this.

"You would never intentionally do anything to hurt me or this world. I'm sure you are taking way too much blame for what happened in your time," he told her, still holding her tight. "I believe it when you say we just keep getting closer, all of us. I trust you." He let her out of his arms and took a step back.

Daniel looked older in that moment. His face lost some of the innocence she associated with his younger self. "I get it, Sam, I really do. I don't want to understand, but I do." Sam smiled sadly. She knew that if anyone could understand it would be Daniel. "Sha're wouldn't want to be the cause of the Goa'uld destroying this world and besides, you haven't said we don't save her." The sadness hadn't left his eyes, despite his words. It was Sam's turn to step back into his arms and hold him.

Relief flooded through her. Sam knew this wasn't going to be the end of the discussion, but at least he understood. "Thank you, Daniel." Releasing him, she put a hand on his arm to steer him back toward the door. "Let's go in and see if the game is over with yet." As they entered the living room, the players on the screen were frozen in mid-play. The VCR was paused and Jack was on the phone.

"Yes, Sir," Jack was saying. "I understand. We'll all be there bright and early. Have a safe flight back." Jack replaced the phone and turned to them, rocking back on his heels. "Well, campers, it looks like we're on our way to Cimmeria, first thing tomorrow morning." Sam let loose the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding as the Colonel went on. She barely listened to him tell them what time the pre-mission briefing was.

The four of them ordered pizza, but the atmosphere was subdued. They were all about to put their lives in the hand of aliens that they had no experience with. Sam could assure them all she wanted that Thor was a true friend, but even she was unsure of the Commander's reaction to her news. How would they feel about altering the timeline?

As the guys left, Sam found that Jack was off in his own world. She almost hadn't noticed because she'd been lost in hers. The silence between them was not awkward. It was companionable. She found it reassuring. How many times had they worked alongside each other in companionable silence?

As Sam and Jack finished clearing away the remains of dinner, she found herself at peace with the coming conversation with Thor. Even if he was reluctant to change the timeline, he would have an idea what to do. Just knowing that they were about to take action calmed her. SG1 had implemented some pretty crazy plans in their day so this was just another day at the office.

"Penny for 'em," Jack said as he put the last dish away and used the drying towel to hook around her and pull her to him. As her body came to rest against his and soft flesh met hard muscle, her breath caught. They were really doing this. They were going to do something way scarier than face Replicators. She and Jack O'Neill were going to shower, together, oh god. Sam's heart skipped a beat even as a wave of desire hit her and spread out across her skin, making her shiver in anticipation.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't

**Author Rating Note: PLEASE READ: I am trying something new to me. I wrote both a "T" and "M" version of this chapter. The Mature version is posted separately. Here is the link, but if I've messed it up or the site takes it out, just go to my profile. I don't have many stories and it is labeled. Reflections in Time, Mature Version.**

AN: Thank you Gategirl7 as always. Sorry everyone for the delay. I've had some health issues that have slowed my writing, but hopefully they are under control and I'm back. Thank you to everyone that is hanging in with me and still reading!

Previously

As Sam and Jack finished clearing away the remains of dinner, she found herself at peace with the coming conversation with Thor. Even if he was reluctant to change the timeline, he would have an idea what to do. Just knowing that they were about to take action calmed her. SG1 had implemented some pretty crazy plans in their day so this was just another day at the office.

"Penny for em," Jack said as he put the last dish away and used the drying town to hook around her and pull her to him. They were really doing this. They were going to do something way scarier than face Replicators. She and Jack were going to shower, together, oh god. Her heart skipped a beat even as a wave of desire hit her and spread out across her skin, making her shiver in anticipation.

**Chapter 16 - Freckles**

"Penny for 'em," Lame O'Neill, Jack chided himself as he flipped his dish towel around Sam's back and caught it with the other hand. Using the cloth to pull her against him, he was rewarded by her soft intake of breath. Closing his eyes for a moment, he forced himself to push back thoughts of what tomorrow might bring. He was feeling at a loss. He was supposed to know how to protect his team but he had no clue what they were getting into. A typical day through the gate, he thought. The difference this time was that he was fast falling for the woman that did understand what was through that gate. Better than you do, O'Neill, he decided, not sure how he felt about that realization. Just a month ago she'd been a wet behind the ears Captain and now she was planning a mission to save the universe. How did he protect her or any of them against that?

You do what she asked you to do and trust her, O'Neill, he told himself. He allowed his head to drop to her shoulder, relishing the feel of her soft curves against his body. God, did she not understand what a bad deal she was getting with him? Just a few days ago he would have said, no, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. He couldn't say that now. The young officer that he'd been getting to know and like had changed overnight. She was proving over and over that she had the experience and maturity to stand toe to toe with him. She might just realize more than he knew. That was a scary thought, but one he found a strange comfort in.

He was going to have to see this mission through but that wasn't until tomorrow and right now the woman in his arms was soft and warm. The scent that was uniquely Sam surrounding him, reminding him that they had the rest of the night before reality snuck in and they put themselves in harm's way again.

Jack released the towel and tossed it on the counter before sliding his hands under her shirt and skimming his palms around to the small of her back. He needed the feel of skin on skin contact. He wanted her, no doubt there, but he refused to hurry. She was a fantasy he'd never expected to fulfill. Now the reality of the woman in his arms threatened to floor him. He could fall hard and fast if he wasn't careful. He'd barely survived having his heart ripped out when Charlie died and Sara left, he wasn't so sure he'd survive if he gave it again and had it ripped out. Maybe he'd do better to step back and let her go to the guest room alone.

Sam shivered in his arms and wiggled closer, pulling him from his dark thoughts. The friction of their bodies combined with the comfort of her hands running up and down his back soothed and excited him all at once. This woman was worth the risk. This woman was strong enough to take him as he was. Don't blow it, Jack, he chided himself. He kissed her neck and smiled at the goose bumps that worked their way across her skin.

"Even at a penny, you wouldn't get your money's worth," Sam answered breathlessly. "I'm having trouble thinking of anything right now." Good answer Carter, his brain approved. He was making the smart, beautiful woman in his arms mindless with just his touch! Jack wondered if there might be any of the Brocca virus laying dormant in his system. He was feeling very primitive as Sam arched her back to follow the progress of his hands across her bare skin.

"Wow, I discovered a way to make Sam Carter stop thinking," he pointed out, pulling back to kiss her forehead.

"I wouldn't suggest using this strategy at the briefing table, Sir" Sam chuckled.

"Probably not," he agreed, sliding his palms higher. He loved how silky she felt under his calloused hands. His head popped up as her words filtered through his brain on another, less primitive level. "Sir?" he questioned.

She looked confused. "Did I call you that?" she questioned sincerely. He smiled, old habits might take a while to break.

Jack didn't respond. He was too busy enjoying her reactions to him. How many times had he looked at her and wondered what it would be like to make her mindless? Cupping her cheek, he brushed his thumb over her lips. She had such a great mouth. "Jack," his name sounded so good in Sam's sexy, breathy voice.

Leaning in, he settled his lips on hers. Taking his time, he kept the kiss light, exploratory. Sam moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to bring him closer so that she could deepen the kiss. When he held his ground, she whimpered her frustration. His body tightened, he was feeling the need to move things along as well, but he was enjoying the exploration way too much to hurry.

As Sam slid her hands into his hair and nipped his bottom lip, Jack's control slipped a notch. He plunged his tongue deep into the soft recesses of her mouth. Swallowing her moan, he slid his hand around to palm her breast. Sam pulled back with a half moan, "Oh God, Jack," she arched into his hand, silently asking for more.

"You're sure about this, Sam?" he didn't mean his voice to be so rough, but he was fast losing control and that wasn't something he was used to. His emotions were always under tight rein, even with Sara, he'd only lost as much control as he'd wanted to at any given time. Just touching Sam was burning through him in ways he'd never experienced.

"Scared, but never more sure," she answered, fighting for breath. He scared her? She had no problem offering to go off world and hitch a ride with aliens with no back up, but he scared her? Strangely enough, Jack could understand that sentiment. "You?" she questioned, sliding her hand into his shirt to play against his bare chest. When had she managed to unbutton that, he wondered as he caught her hand and laced his fingers through hers.

"Bedroom," he stated, stepping away from her and pulled her along the hall. All thought of slowing down left his mind as he stepped through the door and spun around, pulling her inside and pinning her against the wall beside his bedroom door. Retaking her mouth with his, Jack could only think of how much he needed to feel her beneath him, to see if his silent tent musings about her had been right. Did her freckles go past the top of her shoulders and sprinkle across her breasts

Jack broke the kiss to slide his hands under Sam's blouse and slip it over her head. He took a step back to take in the sight of her. "Freckles," he murmured, sliding a finger down her collarbone. One question answered. She blushed. He wasn't sure if it was from him studying her so closely or his comment about her freckles, but he liked it.

He studied her for a moment longer before leaning forward and sliding down to one knee in front of Sam, reaching for the fastenings on her pants. Jack undid them and pushed them down her legs, taking her underwear with them. Freckles here too he confirmed, smiling at the confirmation before he leaned his shoulder into her hip and stood up with her across his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

.

.

* * *

.

.

"Jack!" Sam squeaked in surprise as she found herself hoisted across his muscular shoulder. He didn't answer, just spun around, took a couple of steps and dropped her fairly gently on the bed. Sam smiled as she bounced once and settled into the soft comforter covering Jack's bed. Jack's bed, the thought brought her up short. Focusing on the man standing at her feet, she watched breathlessly as he pushed his jeans out of the way. When he lifted his arms to pull his shirt over his head Sam caught her breath. She'd always thought Jack was an amazing looking man. He was tanned with light brown, reddish hair sprinkled across his nicely muscled chest. Scars dotted his body, but in her eyes they only added to his attractiveness rather than taking away from it.

Sam had seen him shirtless before, but to see him standing over her, naked, she shivered and desire flowed through her. Longing twisted in her belly and she moaned as he hovered over her.

"Beautiful," he murmured, leaning in to nip at her neck before lowering his weight onto the bed. Sam's pulse jumped. God, she needed him. Reaching for him, she slid her hands across his shoulders, gripping him and urging him to make her his.

Sam's desire built, pushing her to the edge. "God, Jack, please," she begged.

"What, Sam?" he asked, raising his head and meeting her eyes. "Tell me what you want." Sam slipped closer to the edge. Jack O'Neill wanted her to talk dirty to him. She'd never talked dirty to anyone in her life.

"Come on, Sam," he instructed, sliding his hand away from her hip and using his talented fingers to push her desire higher. She jerked at the contact and let out a half moan, half scream. "What is it that you want?" Her body pulsed and she felt like she was hanging on the edge of a cliff waiting to soar.

"I want you, Jack," she told him. "Please, make love to me." Jack growled deep in his chest as answered her plea with his body. She'd never felt anything so amazing as being loved by this man.

"That's right baby," he encouraged. "Let go. I'm right behind you." His words were broken as his pace became unsteady and he lost himself in her. She was still flying as he broke and joined her. Sam held tight to him. As she returned to earth, Jack slid to the side and cradled her. Sam liked that they were still joined. If felt right. Snuggling in closer, she wondered if they'd have a chance to be like this again. So much could go wrong with the mission and even if they succeeded in stopping the Replicators, their own government might try to take her away from the SGC.

"You're thinking too much, Carter." Jack's tone was sleepy and relaxed and full of affection. She smiled.

"Sorry," she whispered back.

"I was going for mindless," he informed her, the pout coming into his voice.

"Worked," she agreed. "The effect must just be temporary."

"Need another dose?" he offered.

"Soon," she instructed, smiling. She was too exhausted to move and figured he couldn't be too far behind her. "That was intense," she commented.

"More than intense," Jack agreed, "Now sleep, Carter, I'm not sure I have the strength to work on mindless again right yet." Sam chuckled. Truth be told, she didn't have the strength for mindless again yet either. Snuggling down a little Sam felt Jack's breathing even out right as she sleep finally took her as well.


	17. Chapter 17 Dream a little Dream

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Thank you to everyone that is still reading though my delayed posts. Thank you to all of you that were kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. And of course, thank you Gategirl7 for being an awesome beta! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

**This is the 'T' rated version. The mature version is posted separately under "Reflections in time, mature chapters" See my profile for that link if you'd rather read a more detailed love scene.**

Previously

"Sorry," she whispered back.

"I was going for mindless," he informed her, the pout coming into his voice.

"Worked," she agreed. "The effect must just be temporary until cumulative."

"Need another dose?" he offered.

"Soon," she instructed, smiling. She was too exhausted to move and figured he couldn't be too far behind her. "That was intense," she commented.

"More than intense," Jack agreed, "Now sleep, Carter, I'm not sure I have the strength to work on mindless again right yet." Sam chuckled. Truth be told, she didn't have the strength for mindless again yet either. Snuggling down a little Sam felt Jack's breathing even out right as she sleep finally took her as well.

Chapter 17

"Don't you understand what this means," Daniel's face was enthusiastic as he turned away from the stone pillar on Dakara. Sam knew she must be dreaming, but she was at that point in between reality and dream. She couldn't quite awaken and bring herself out of it. She didn't really want to bring herself out of it. This had been the good moments before everything had gone so horribly wrong.

"I know that this sacred temple is where our enslavement began. It is an appropriate place for our enslavement to end." Teal'c stated proudly. "We have won a great victory here today, old friend." His pride as he clapped Bra'tac on the back was evident.

"We have won a battle, Teal'c, nothing more. Our victory is far from assured." The older warrior informed his former student solemnly. Sam smiled in her dream. Daniel was almost bouncing from foot to foot with the need to reveal his discovery.

"Guys," Daniel tried again to break in. "I know what this temple means to the Jaffa, but"

"Many of Baal's Jaffa have already pledged their allegiance to our cause. When word spreads of what we have accomplished, many more will follow, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c interrupted.

"And their hearts will turn cold again if they hear our accomplishment lasted mere hours." Bra'tac interjected. Daniel was about to break in again when another Jaffa rebel came back into the room. With a resigned sigh, Daniel clamped his mouth shut.

"Tolok. What news?" Bra'tac inquired.

"We have received word. Baal has broken off his battle with the Replicators." Tolok replied gravely. "He is coming."

"As we expected," Bra'tac nodded before turning back to address Teal'c. "You see, taking the temple was not our greatest challenge. Holding it will be."

"But we have to hold it," Daniel jumped in, moving between the two warriors and holding up his hands at both of them when they began to open their mouth. Sam smiled. That was Daniel. He'd lost the shy awkwardness he'd had long ago. "This weapon may be the key to destroying the Replicators." He paused for breath. "It may be the key to destroying them everywhere, at once, like Thor and Sam said we have to do to win."

Daniel had everyone's attention. Sam's dream shifted away from the events of that day. She didn't want to dream about the destruction of the SGC. She tried to pull herself out of her dream and to the surface of wakefulness.

As she finally forced herself awake, Sam resisted the urge to roll onto her stomach. She didn't want to wake Jack up. His arm felt warm and heavy across her waist and his legs felt good tangled with hers. She lay there, trying to calm her racing heart.

Jack moved in his sleep, slinging his leg over hers and adjusting her against him like a pillow. Sam pushed the dream away and concentrated on the comfort she felt from being curled against the man she loved.

Glancing next to her, Sam sighed. Nearly forty five had passed according to the clock on Jack's bedside table and she hadn't been able to go back to sleep. At first, laying against Jack, feeling safe and warm and alive had kept her quiet and content, but now images of the events that had brought her to this place in her life were making Sam restless. She couldn't push the dream out of her head or the events that had unfolded hours later.

Sam thought about the last hours before the bugs had started coming through the gate and forced her and Jack to destroy the SGC. She'd thought they finally had the answer to defeating the Replicators, and then it had all fallen apart. Sam thought about the elation on Daniel face as he'd read the temple wall at Dakara and announced that it just might be the answer to defeating the replicators.

Sam again saw Bra'tac's as he'd agreed to stay on Dakara incase Baal showed up quicker than they thought The members of SG1 went back to inform Jack what was happening and bring Jacob and Selmak back to help with the weapon. They had a plan. Things always worked out for them, except this time it hadn't.

Along with Teal'c and Daniel, she'd hurried through the gate to confer with Jack and set a plan in motion. Then all hell had broken lose. The gate had barely shut down on them coming back before an incoming wormhole established and Replicators started pouring through.

Fighting back tears, Sam was unable to stop herself from slamming her head back against the pillow in frustration at her memories. She glanced quickly over at Jack, expecting her movements to have awakened him. She watched him for a moment, surprised that he hadn't come fully awake.

Still asleep, he stretched like a big cat and turned over on his back. They'd slept together in countless tents, but watching him naked and relaxed in sleep made the love she felt bubble to the surface and helped her push the pain of her memories back. Another shift of his toned, finely muscled body brought desire bubbling to the surface. Sam embraced the cravings that had started to pool at her center and let them push the past away. The fear and pain she felt needed to be locked away before it incapacitated her.

If SG1 succeeded, the past that she remembered would never happen. She needed to hold onto hope. That would be worth the isolation and uncertainty she felt now. Focusing on the here and now, Sam watched Jack slide back into deep sleep. The restless movement of his legs tangled the sheet around them as she watched. Another restless shift and he managed to pull the sheet down, leaving him naked from the knees up.

"Oh, God," Sam couldn't help speaking aloud. He's gorgeous, he's alive and he's here beside me, she reasoned, it would be a shame to waste the opportunity. Overcome with the desire to learn his body, Sam turned on her side and ran a light hand down across his taut stomach. Admiring the finely toned muscles, she lingered for a moment before trailing her hand down further.

Enjoying her freedom, Sam took the opportunity to learning his shape, his feel. Sam smiled as she watched him react to her touch. Jack's body was awake even if he wasn't. As the evidence of his desire continued to rise under her touch, he moaned in his sleep and shifted slightly.

Feeling her own passion rise, Sam decided to throw caution to the wind and follow her instincts. Shifting onto her knees, she leaned over to taste him. His scent and taste overwhelming, a small moan escaped her attempt to be quiet. When Jack's fingers tangled in her hair, Sam moaned. "Oh God, Sam," his voice was still scratchy with sleep and sexy as hell to her ears.

Sam shifted to look up at him, enjoying the look of pleasure on Jack's face. "Waking to you like this is hot as hell, Carter," he groaned, reaching down to stroke her face. Sam moaned as he reacted to her touch. This had been a fantasy for her for a long time, Jack O'Neill, moaning and pulsing with the pleasure she was giving him. "God, Sam," he groaned, reaching for her with both hands. She wasn't prepared when he sat up and caught her around the waist, easily pulling her up out of his lap.

"Jack," she questioned breathlessly, momentarily confused. She'd been intent on his pleasure, but in the next second, she was lifted and he was sitting her in his lap, straddling him. Her body was ready, making it easy for him to join them and adjust her legs around his hips so that she sat fully open to him.

Sam had never felt so protected and vulnerable at the same time as she did at that moment. Jack's arms were around her holding her still. "Stay still for me, sweetheart," he instructed, his voice hoarse with effort. With a moan, she tried to comply, but his words pushed her higher. She loved that he had to fight for control with her. Jack was such a controlled man, he rarely lost his hold on his emotions. That she could make this amazing man lose his hold on himself made her squirm in his lap.

Strong fingers clamped on her hip, "I'm close baby, you gotta give me a second here." She didn't want to. She wanted him mindless like he'd had her not too long ago. Sam leaned forward, gently blowing in his ear.

"Don't hold back, Jack," she whispered. "I'm close too, fly with me." A groan torn from his chest and his arms tightened around her.

"Samantha," he shouted as he abandoned trying to still her movements and instead used his hands on her hips to guide them toward oblivion.

"Yes," she shouted, using her hips to add her strength to his. She felt fire building in her belly, threatening to spill across her skin. "Please, Jack, harder," she pleaded. When he complied with a growl, she saw sparks and felt the heat of their combined completion. Sam was dimly aware of Jack calling her name and they clung to each other.

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Jack smiled as he came back to himself. Sam was laying against his shoulder, little aftershocks breaking over her. This woman was going to be the death of him. It wasn't often, hardly ever, if he was being truthful with himself, that he lost complete control like he'd just done. Hadn't happened since the four months of torment he'd barely escaped in that hellish prison camp.

Shivering at the implications, Jack laid back, pulling Sam and the covers with him. He liked the weight of her across him. When she tried to adjust herself beside him, he pressed his hand into the small of her back, keeping her in place. "Comfortable," he groaned, feeling her chuckle.

"Not too heavy?" she asked tiredly.

"Perfect." God, did he sound like as much of a sap to her and he did to himself, he wondered, wincing at his words. He could feel Sam smile against his chest before her breathing began to even out. Jack laid awake, comfortably stroking Sam's soft skin. Her breathing had deepened. She was very soundly asleep, but he found himself wide awake.

This woman took his breath away. Now that he'd begun to let his emotions out of the tightly locked mental box he'd kept them in, now that they'd begun to explore their feelings, he was surprised how quickly she was finding her way into his blood. In seconds she'd been able to decimate his control and she hadn't even been aware that she was doing it. Fear, honest panic, raced though him.

Should he stop things before they went any further, he wondered. He'd had to do hard, painful things before when it was necessary, but this time that thought alone made his blood run cold. Too late O'Neill, he told himself, tightening his arms around the woman sleeping across him. One damn day and he was in love with her.

The knowledge hit him hard, making his stomach clench with fear, but at the same time Jack felt a warmth he hadn't felt in years. Hope was intertwined with the fear. Holding Sam close against him, Jack tried to force himself to rest. He matched his breathing to Sam's, feeling himself start to relax. He had a long day ahead tomorrow and he needed to be at his best. Having realized just how much the woman sleeping so peacefully against him could mean to him, he'd be damn if he was going to lose her to anything, whether that thing was a bug, alien or the NID.


	18. Chapter 18 Details

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Thank you to everyone that is reading and all of you that are kind enough to leave me what you thought of my story so far. And of course, thank you Gategirl7 for being an awesome beta! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Previously

This woman took his breath away. Now that he'd begun to let his emotions out of the tightly locked mental box he'd kept them in, now that they'd begun to explore their feelings, he was surprised how quickly she was finding her way into his blood. In seconds she'd been able to decimate his control and she hadn't even been aware that she was doing it. Fear, honest panic, raced though him.

Should he stop things before they went any further, he wondered. He'd had to do hard, painful things before when it was necessary, but this time the thought alone made his blood run cold. Too late O'Neill, he told himself, tightening his arms around the woman sleeping next to him. One damn day and he was in love with her.

The knowledge hit him hard, making his stomach clench with fear, but at the same time Jack felt a warmth he hadn't felt in years. Hope was intertwined with the fear. Holding Sam close against him, Jack tried to force himself to rest. He matched his breathing to Sam's, feeling himself start to relax. He had a long day ahead tomorrow and he needed to be at his best. Having realized just how much the woman sleeping so peacefully against him could mean to him, he'd be damn if he was going to lose her to anything, whether that danger came in the form of bug, alien or NID.

Chapter 18

"Godspeed, SG1," Hammond had said as he sent them through the Stargate nearly an hour ago. Well, if God traveled by snail, they were right on time, Jack thought as he watched Daniel and Sam try to explain to Gairwyn, their contact on Cimmeria, that they needed to use the Hall of Might to reach Thor. He could read Carter's body language. She was strung tight. Daniel was doing his usual diplomatic number and was excited and animated, but now that he really knew what to look for, the differences in Carter were blatant.

Jack was used to seeing his captain nearly as wide eyed and enthusiastic as his archeologist. Now she held herself in check, adding only what she needed to as she waited for the locals to catch up with the program and give their blessings. He could read the edginess in her body language, but to anyone who didn't know her, she appeared interested and patient. Quietly, Teal'c moved to stand near Jack, back from scouting the area. Carter didn't believe that the Goa'uld would be there for at least another month, but sending Teal'c out on a little walk around the place soothed Jack's nerves.

"I have found nothing, O'Neill. The area is secure," the Jaffa reported quietly.

"Excellent," Jack stated, without taking his eyes off Carter. "Now that I know what's going on with Carter, it's hard to believe we didn't notice more sooner."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed, turning to study the woman in question. As if she could feel their attention on her, Sam turned and raised an eyebrow at them. Pretty good imitation of the big guy, Jack decided, glancing beside him to see Teal'c's reaction. He was just in time to see his Jaffa buddy's eyebrow shoot up as well. Sam ducked her head to hide her smile at the silent exchange. Jack's body tightened in response. Damn, he had it bad.

"So, what do you say we get this show on the road?" he ventured, rubbing his hands together and moving toward the group. He was in dire need of a distraction.

"Gairwyn has suggested that we pray to Thor if we want to speak to him." Gairwyn nodded enthusiastically at Daniel's explanation. "She is apprehensive that we may cause Thor to look unfavorably on them if they allow us to use their hall of audiences."

"If Thor wishes to speak with us, he answers in the trees, the wind," Gairwyn explained. "If he does not choose to answer then it is not for us to question him."

"Gairwyn, the Etins are on their way back. We need to go to Thor's Hall of Might to let him know so that he can help us fix what we have broken," Carter tried again. She glanced at Daniel, helplessly. He picked up the hint and tried once again to convince the elder Cimmerian to help them.

"Can we go and talk to Kendra?" Daniel suggested. "She was once controlled by a demon. Maybe she will be able to advise us on the best path." Their guide looked thoughtful. Good angle, Daniel, Jack silently congratulated the young doctor.

"I will take you to the Hall of Thor's Might," Gairwyn surprised them by saying. O'Neill exchanged a look with Sam. He could see the relief written on her face. Funny how the prospect of throwing them all on the mercy of an alien filled him with apprehension and her with obvious relief, he thought, glancing at Teal'c. The big guy's face was unreadable. Making a mental note never to teach his alien teammate poker, O'Neill nodded Carter and Daniel his approval to drop in behind Gairwyn.

They hadn't been walking for more than twenty minutes when an Obelisk similar to the one that had operated Thor's Hammer came into view. Carter increased her pace, passing their guide. The alien woman didn't seem pleased and rushed to catch back up with her. This is what he was afraid of, Carter becoming a loose cannon and rushing headlong into something because it was familiar ground to her. He was pleased when she stopped by the monument and didn't make a move to touch it. Good girl, Carter. This might not go as badly as he feared.

"This is the Hall of Might?" Daniel questioned, obviously disappointed. Jack had to agree with him.

"You were expecting something different?" Gairwyn's voice was genuinely confused.

"Well, uh," Daniel started, looking up and down the obelisk one more time. "Maybe a hall?" he offered.

"Gotta agree there, Carter," Jack offered, watching her closely. She didn't say anything, but reached up and touched the stone in the middle of the monument. The native woman gasped, but whatever she was about to say was cut off as a beam of light enveloped them and they found themselves deposited in the dark in what felt like a cave.

"Wow, what a ride," Daniel's voice cut through the silence as Jack flipped his flashlight on at about the same time as Sam did hers.

"A little warning next time, Carter," he instructed tensely, beginning to search around with his light.

"Sorry, Sir," she answered, coming to stand beside him and directing their attention to a stone structure very similar to the one they'd just seen outside. As soon as the beam of light hit it, a stone in the center started to glow. Jack took a quick step back as a Viking in full battle dress appeared before him. He recognized the hologram from his and Teal'c's time in Thor's Hammer.

"I am Thor. You are brave to come before me." The recording said. Daniel looked awed, Gairwyn slightly scared.

"O mighty Thor," she began. Jack stepped to her and placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

"It's a recording. There was one in the Hammer that spoke to us when we arrived," he informed her.

"It's a holographic recording being projected through that hole in the ceiling," Sam agreed with him, flashing her light at the ceiling.

"However, only the worthy my witness Thor's might," the recording continued. Gairwyn didn't seem sure, but she silently watched. When Thor's image raised his hammer and then disappeared, the alien woman ran to where he'd been standing and turned back to them confused.

"Why has he forsaken me?" The hurt in her voice showed how much she didn't understand that Thor had not been standing in the room with them.

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* * *

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Sam heard the hurt in Gairwyn's voice, but she didn't try to explain further. Telling the woman her God was just a recording hadn't really worked the first time, she didn't see the point this time. Before she could finish the thought anyway, the floor began to shake and drop away from the center as they had the first time she'd done this.

When the shaking stopped, there was a balance beam type bridge extending out in front of them. "Whoa," snapped Jack as she took a step away from the edge. "Where did that come from?"

Sam briefly debated telling them all that the fall was an illusion and they were in no danger, but she wasn't sure what had triggered the next step of the test the first time. It could be that Thor had equipment that had sensors in it and they needed to detect certain emotions. She wished she'd asked Thor, but she hadn't ever thought to.

"Are we supposed to cross that?" Jack turned back to her expectantly. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he muttered at the look on her face.

"Sorry, Sir," she offered. He gave her one of his looks that said he didn't want to hear it and proceeded to take his pack off.

"I'll go first, Daniel, you come on behind me, then Gairwyn, Sam, Teal'c," he instructed. Sam watched Jack step out onto the stone ledge. She shined her flashlight ahead of him. He glanced over his shoulder acknowledging her help and proceeded to walk across with little outward effort. Sam admired the grace her commander showed. He was like a big cat. It amazed her that he could go from casual slumping in a chair, offering smartass, sometimes flat out stupid comments at briefings to graceful, cunning, deadly predator with seemingly no effort. The love she felt for the man now holding his flashlight for Daniel welled up in her.

Once again she felt the weight of the future heavy on her. She didn't just need to save their world, she needed to help the Asgard stop the replicators from becoming the threat to the universe that they were destined at this point to become without changing things that must remain the same. Watching Daniel reach the middle of his crossing, Sam wasn't surprised to see the floor begin to shake. Jack called Daniel's name as the young man fell across the beam.

With his typical disregard for his own safety, Jack quickly crossed the beam toward his fallen teammate. Sam watched, almost detached as he reached for Daniel, only to have the beam shake again and both of men hit the floor as the illusion shattered, leaving them both safe.

Jack rolled to his feet, adrenaline coming off of him in waves. She'd already made it across to Daniel and was helping him to his feet. Teal'c and Gairwyn were only a step behind her as they took in the illusion and processed its meaning.

As Sam helped Daniel to his feet, she found herself spun around to face her angry commanding officer. "You knew about that," he snapped, no question in his voice. "Was that fun, Carter?" She would have taken a step back if he hadn't been holding her arm. She'd rarely faced him this angry at her.

"I didn't know what else to do!" she defended. "I'm sorry Colonel, but I wasn't sure what triggered Thor's next test and I knew no one was in real danger." His eyes were hard as he studied her silently. She knew why he was mad. In that second before the two men had hit the floor, he'd thought he'd lost Daniel.

"You have shown true selflessness and bravery. Willingness to sacrifice oneself to save another is an honorable trait. I salute you. Now you must add wisdom to courage. Solve the riddle of the runes, and I will show you my true might." Thor's voice interrupted whatever Jack had been about to say. He released her arm and turned as a new light picked them up and deposited them in a room with a large fire in the middle and runes on each side.

Here at least she could save them all a whole lot of trouble. Sam started to cross over to the wall covered in geometric figures. "Hold it, Carter," Jack's voice stopped her. "Let's do this a little differently this time." The irritation in his voice was unmistakable. He was right. She hadn't handled that last test very well.

"How about you tell the rest of us what you're planning and what to expect." She mentally shook herself. Never before would she have dreamed of leaving her CO out of the loop like she was doing at the moment. She couldn't allow her fears to cloud her judgment.

"I'm sorry Colonel," she told him sincerely. Coming to stand next to him she pulled herself to attention, her stance showing him the respect she felt and hadn't intentionally meant to deny him. "I never meant to…"

"I got it, Sam," he interrupted her, relaxing somewhat, obviously satisfied and ready to drop the subject. "What now?" he prompted.

She explained as quickly as possible the details of the walls and how Daniel had figured out that they represented numerals denoting the value of Pi. Daniel was nodding through most of the explanation. "This is a bit weird," Jackson pointed out, "but that is right. It might have taken me a few minutes to get there, but that makes sense." She refrained from telling him that he had struggled for more than a few minutes with the walls.

"With the answer to the riddle represented, Thor will appear in a form in which we may communicate with him?" Teal'c asked.

"He will," she assured him.

"Alright, Carter," O'Neill agreed. "Go draw on the pretty pictures and let's get this show on the road. I'm missing the Simpsons." She smiled at him before dragging her finger through the center of the circle. As the sand like substance filtered away revealing another red light like the one outside, Sam didn't hesitate to push the symbol in.

Gairwyn's gasp spun them all around as one. The image of the Viking wavered and in its place stood an Asgard.

"I am the actual one…whom you know as Thor," the image said.

"Thor," Sam exclaimed. Rushing toward her friend, she stopped in front of his image. "We can help each other. You're plan to stop the Replicators isn't going to work. I know that they are threatening Hala and they will one day threaten our world."

"How is it that you know about the Replicators?" Thor's image climbed from his chair and stood to examine her more closely. "You are not from Cimmeria," he said.

"We're from Earth," Daniel put in.

"He is Jaffa," Thor accused. Sam's pulse picked up, would Thor simply disappear on them?

"He is," Jack leaped in before she could say anything. "But he is with us now."

"I no longer serve the false Gods," Teal'c intoned.

"They are our friends," Gairwyn said, having finally found her voice. Thor looked at all of them for a moment. He blinked and moved to sit back down in his chair.

"How is it that you know of the Replicators? They have not found their way into your galaxy. I would have detected them." Well, at least he was listening, Sam thought.

"You're on, Carter," Jack prompted when she hesitated. She wasn't sure where to start. She had a feeling she might only get one shot at this.

"There was an accident involving a Quantum Mirror," she began. "I was transported back in time from the year 2005, but still in my own reality." Thor didn't say anything so she continued. "I don't understand exactly how that is possible, but if you can't figure it out, maybe we could consult Kvasir." She had learned to read the Asgard well enough to recognize the shock on his face.

"Uh, excuse me," Daniel interrupted, stepping forward. "Don't forget about the Hammer." She had almost forgotten that. As Sam launched into why they had destroyed the Hammer, she suddenly found herself enveloped in a white light. As the light receded, Sam realized that she was no longer planet side. Thor had deposited SG1 on the bridge of his ship, Gairwyn was not with them.

"I have repaired the Hammer and returned Gairwyn to the surface. Cimmeria is again a safe world. An Asgard teacher will soon arrive to teach the Cimmerians. I will take you to the Asgard home world. Interference with time is dangerous. I will need to consult with the counsel before I allow you to tell us the details of the Replicators and our future."


	19. Chapter 19 Names

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialogue you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Thank you to everyone that is still reading though my delayed posts and still taking the time to leave me a note of what you think. And of course, thank you alcyone777 (the beta formerly known as Gategirl7) for being an awesome beta! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Previously:

"Uh, excuse me," Daniel interrupted, stepping forward. "Don't forget about the Hammer." She had almost forgotten that. As Sam launched into why they had destroyed the Hammer, she suddenly found herself enveloped in a familiar white light. As the light receded, Sam realized that she was no longer planet side. Thor had deposited SG1 on the bridge of his ship, Gairwyn was not with them.

"I have repaired the Hammer and returned Gairwyn to the surface. Cimmeria is again a safe world. An Asgard teacher will soon arrive to teach the Cimmerians. I will take you to the Asgard home world. Interference with time is dangerous. I will need to consult with the counsel before I allow you tell us the details of the Replicators and our future."

Chapter 19

The familiar feel of the Asgard beam, finally being on Thor's ship, eased Sam for the first time since she'd woken up to find she'd jumped backwards in time. She was mentally exhausted but now it felt hope. Thor was going to listen, maybe. Just take it one step at a time Sam, she told herself.

"So, Thor, gotta say I'm a fan of your work," Jack voice distracted her from her thoughts. She looked up to see him running his hand over the edge of one of the ship's consoles. When he went to reach for one of the communications stones, Thor simply removed it from O'Neill's reach. She had to duck her head to hide her smile. The familiarity of the situation continued to sooth her. These two beings would become such good friends, but right now it was easy to see that Thor was a little unsure. She'd worked with him enough to be able to pick up his body language.

Jack pushed his hands into his pockets in an obvious attempt to keep himself from annoying their new alien friend. Even though Jack now was much more serious than he would be by the time he reached General, she could still see the humor in him. Love warmed her.

"Carter tells me that you little guys are very advanced. Way more advanced than the Goa'uld. If that's the case, why do you protect one planet at a time? Why not simply wipe the bad guys out, cut off the head of the snake, as it were?" His sweeping arm motion to simulate whacking the head off of the snake had Thor blinking widely and studying Jack. Watching them figure each other out was fascinating. Even Daniel seemed enthralled by their alien friend. For the moment he seemed content to listen.

"You are not all from the future?" Thor questioned.

"Nope, just Carter," Jack answered with a thumb aimed in her general direction. "The rest of us are just keeping her company on this little adventure."

Thor nodded once and studied her for a moment. Sam felt a little uncomfortable under the Asgard's appraisal, so much depended on his people helping them. So much depended on him.

Sam tried to remember what she knew of her friend's history. Thor didn't wield as much power at this point in his life as he would later. If she remembered the timing right, he had just become Supreme Commander of the fleet a few years prior.

Even with his support it was not a sure thing, but without it they would have little chance she figured. Would he help? This Thor didn't know them yet let alone trust them. They hadn't worked together to defeat the Replicators and save the Asgard.

A chilling thought sent fear sliding down her spine. If the Asgard had no reason to be grateful to the Tauri because the future changed and the Replicators were taken care of here and now, did that mean that they would never develop the close ties with the people of Earth that she was used to? Thor and all of his people were too important to lose.

"I do not know your level of knowledge of our race or the threat the Replicators present in the universe, Colonel O'Neill. How much has Captain Carter told you of the future?"

"Not much," O'Neill stated. "Enough to convince me that we needed to contact you, but she keeps insisting that too much knowledge of the future is a very bad thing." Thor left his command console and came around to stand with the humans. He glanced at Teal'c and Daniel, standing near an observation window, before coming to a stop in front of Sam.

"I am pleased that you understand the relevance of your knowledge and the possible consequences. It is surprising in a race so young. You have much potential."

"We might be young and potential is great and all," Jack interrupted before Sam could answer, "but we're out here now."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed coming to stand at O'Neill's shoulder. "The Tauri stand against the Goa'uld as it is said the Asgard do."

"Maybe we can work together, form an alliance," Daniel added, pushing away to join the conversation.

"You are much too young a race," Thor cut the discussion off.

"And you don't have the resources right now anyway," Sam couldn't help feeling the same irritation she'd felt when Jack had related the Asgard's opinion of the people from Earth after his first visit. The people of Earth had been dismissed as being of little importance in the beginning, but they'd ended up being central to the defeat of the System Lords. "You're bluffing the Goa'uld. The Replicators are taking too many of your resources. You should have left them where you found them."

Thor's face betrayed his surprise. "You have great knowledge of us."

"That's because all of us, all five of us," she informed him, gesturing between all of them in the room including Thor, "are good friends and have helped each other numerous times. We've all gotten to know each other well." She stopped, not wanting to reveal anything further and thinking about her words.

"You doing ok there Carter," Jack asked gently. She blinked, suddenly realizing who she was snapping at.

"I'm sorry Thor," she said quietly. "I'm scared and I don't mean to snap at you." Thor seemed to be considering what she'd said. I have all of this knowledge of you, of your race, of the future and its hard. To me, you and I are friends." Thor wasn't saying much, but he seemed to be listening. She just didn't know what else to say.

"Look, I know you don't know any of this stuff yet, but maybe you could give us the benefit of the doubt. After all, we are trying to help you." Jack cut in, his words seemed to get through to the alien.

"As you say O'Neill, I will give you the benefit of the doubt." The commander agreed. "Your apology is unnecessary Samantha Carter. If we are friends in the future you know, we will be again." Sam nodded her thanks. She had to fight back the lump in her throat. His acceptance meant the world to her. "We must make a stop to drop off some cargo at an outpost on the way. We will reach the Asgard home world in a few of your hours. If you would like to rest, I have prepared quarters." He didn't give them much of a chance to answer before they found themselves deposited in a room with low, padded looking benches with backs to them and a view of space through windows along one wall.

"Well that went well," Jack commented, finding himself a place on one of the longer benches. Sam sat down on the bench running at a 90 degree angle to his.

"He doesn't know us," Sam felt the need to fill the silence. "You told me when you first met him that he was quiet, didn't say much, and was a little standoffish." Nothing like the Thor I am used to dealing with she decided, trying to hold onto the glimpse of the being she was used to dealing with that he'd offered at the end. "I miss my friend." She wasn't even aware she was speaking out loud until Daniel sat down next to her.

"You OK, Sam?" Daniel asked her.

"I'm trying to be," she answered honestly. "I know how the council was, is. What if they decide that the future should not be messed with? What if they decide that I can't even warn them?" She dropped her head, feeling the weight of her knowledge even more. "I'm so sick of knowing what is coming. I feel like I'm judge and jury."

Sam flushed red, how could she say that to Daniel? She was doing just that to him with her decision not to tell him exactly what was going on with his wife.

When a warm hand settled on her forearm and squeezed, Sam was shocked that it was to her right, Jack. "It's going to be ok, Carter," he told her, not moving his hand from her arm. She raised her eyes to his, only to find comfort there and a softness she'd only glimpsed from Jack every now and then and only in private, special moments.

Things had already begun to change, Sam realized, not sure if she should be glad or scared, but for the moment she wasn't going to question the bright spot he represented. "You've said these aliens are good people," Jack winced at his choice of words, bringing a quick smile to her face. He had such a way of distracting her. She loved this man.

"They are," she answered, "but they are cautious and until they got to know us and work with us, they were very hard to predict."

"Is there no other way to stop the destruction of your planet without the help of the Asgard, Samantha Carter?" Teal'c's quietness calmed Sam. He didn't look right to her anymore without hair, she decided, thinking of the leader her friend was in the future and how much he would grow.

Sam considered Teal'c for a moment. He might be right, they did have a lot of knowledge about what was coming. "Maybe, I don't really know." Sam didn't get to finish her statement as the ship rocked with impact. Everyone was on their feet immediately.

.

.

* * *

.

.

"That can't be good," Jack stated, looking around the room but not seeing any door. There had to be one. "How can we contact our little buddy, Carter?" he asked her, bringing her attention back to him.

"Thor," Sam said into the air. "What is happening?" Jack rolled his eyes. Gee, why didn't I think of that one?

"We have been attacked by replicators," Thor's voice was calm. "I will beam you down to the first safe planet with a Stargate that I am able to reach." That couldn't be good.

"Where are they, Thor?" Sam was asking before he had a chance to reply. Jack caught her eye. These things had caused the destruction of the SGC and were giving the big powerful aliens a run for their money, Jack wasn't sure what they could do to help.

"Our weapons are effective against them, Sir, more so than Asgard weapons," she told him quietly. Running their options through his head as he caught Teal'c's eye, Jack nodded once. "Alright," he told her quietly. "You know your way around this ship I'm guessing." He wasn't at all surprised to see her nod eagerly. Teal'c and Daniel had already retrieved their weapons from beside the benches and were handing his and Sam's over as well.

"Thor, O'Neill here," he raised his voice, feeling sort of stupid talking to the air. "Beam us to where the Replicators are," he instructed, hoping their host would accept the help. "Benefit of the doubt time here, buddy," he added.

"Some of the ships systems are off line, O'Neill," Thor finally answered. A door that hadn't been apparent before slid open. "The Replicators are here." A hologram of the ship's schematic appeared before them with one area blinking and symbols that Jack didn't recognize flashing frantically.

"Carter," he questioned as she stared at the image.

"I'm more familiar with the O'Neill Class ships than this ship, but I believe I can get us there."

O'Neill Class, Jack repeated in his head. "Carter?" he questioned.

"They named a ship after Jack?" Daniel's voice almost squeaked.

"Oh, sorry, Sir," she answered. "I didn't mean to say that, but yes they named a ship after you." She turned to Daniel before he could say whatever it was he'd opened his mouth to say. "They named one after you as well," she informed him before heading out into the hall.

Teal'c didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrow and followed Carter out of the door. "Ships," Daniel said in wonder, looking at Jack like a child discovering something new and astonishing, "after us."

"Boggles the mind," Jack confirmed, pushing the young scientist out into the hall in the direction his teammates were heading. He couldn't help the smile that briefly touched his lips. Aliens had named ships after them, sweet!


	20. Chapter 20 Raid

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Thank you to everyone that is still reading though my delayed posts and all of you that have been kind enough to leave me what you thought of it so far. And of course, thank you Gategirl7 for being an awesome beta! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Previously:

"Carter," he questioned as she stared at the image.

"I'm more familiar with the O'Neill Class ships than this ship, but I believe I can get us there."

O'Neill Class, Jack repeated in his head. "Carter?" he questioned.

"They named a ship after Jack," Daniel's voice almost squeaked.

"Oh, sorry, Sir," she answered. "I didn't mean to say that, but yes they named a ship after you." She turned to Daniel before he could say whatever it was he'd opened his mouth to say. "They named one after you as well, Daniel." She informed him, before heading out of the door.

Well that was one way to shut Daniel up. The look on his face was priceless. Teal'c didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrow and followed Carter out of the door. "Ships," Daniel said in wonder, looking at Jack like a child discovering something new and wondrous. "After us," he said slowly.

"Boggles the mind," Jack confirmed, pushing the young scientist out into the hall in the direction his team mates were heading. He couldn't help the smile that briefly touched his lips. Alien's had named ships after them, Sweet.

Chapter 20 - Raid

Jack's first sight of the new enemy was as they rounded the corner and Carter opened fire. He jumped in, taking up position covering both Teal'c and Sam, Daniel stayed at his back. "Giant mechanical bugs," Jack declared. "Who thinks of these things?" There seemed to be hundreds of the things clicking and clanking around. Thank God bullets shattered them, but his little team was seriously outnumbered.

They'd been engaging the mechanical monsters for nearly twenty minutes. Jack continued to fire, noting that his team was slowly turning the tide. Teal'c and Sam were shoulder to shoulder and doing a good job of forcing their way through the Replicator controlled corridor.

Jack was keeping the bugs from flanking them while Daniel took up the slack if any got past the other three. His archeologist was coming along fine in his training, Jack noted, glad of all the instruction and drills they'd been doing.

As SG1 rounded a corner, one of the bugs jumped at Sam's head. Jack's fire caught it in mid air. Neither she nor Teal'c flinched as the individual pieces rained down around them.

Good girl, Jack approved, knowing she'd hate him thinking of her that way. He made a mental note to mention it to her next time they were alone. He loved the fire in her eyes when he said stuff like that. It was even worth the beating he might have to take, he decided, sighting in another bug that was trying to crawl down the wall behind them.

"Jack," Daniel's voice pulled his attention away from the group in front of him and down a side hall. "You better take a look at this." Backtracking slightly to Daniel's position, he peered into the darkness of the corridor. Jack's adrenaline surged.

In the corner alcove, attached to a wall panel that had been torn to shreds was a huge, super bug. It was pulsing in time to some rhythm he couldn't hear and smaller bugs lined up around it. It had been so dark and the onslaught of bugs had been so overwhelming that no one had noticed the alcove. Thank God for Daniel's innate curiosity.

"Carter, Teal'c," Jack said into the radio in the top pocket of his vest. "We have a problem here." He stepped back into the corridor, directing Daniel to watch their backs. "I'm coming to you." As he caught up with the two ahead of him, Jack announced his presence and took over Carter's place beside Teal'c.

"What's up, Sir?" Carter asked as she gave way to him.

"Daniel found a giant bug that these guys seem to be trying to lead us away from. You better take a look. I'm not sure bullets are going to do much more than piss it off."

Jack hadn't let up his fire as he'd related what was going on. Now that he knew the creatures were trying to lead them away from the gigantic Replicator, he stopped pursuing and started to fall back. Carter was already on her way back to Daniel.

"The attack will intensify when the enemy sees their strategy is no longer succeeding," Teal'c offered as he adjusted seamlessly to Jack's change in tactics. Just as the Jaffa finished his sentence, the Replicators swarmed them as if they'd heard the comment.

"Thanks, T," Jack shouted over the din of all the little metallic legs snapping and clamoring mixed with the burst of gunfire. Sometimes he couldn't tell if the big guy was trying to be funny or just had amazing grasp of the obvious. "I was hoping they wouldn't notice that we'd noticed."

Jack glanced at his fellow warrior just in time to see the big guy's eyebrow rise over an inscrutable look aimed at him. Yep, couldn't tell if that was a joke or not, he decided with a shrug as he continued to fire.

The two men were slowly being forced back toward the bug hive, as Jack had christened the hall they'd discovered the super bug in. "Sir, I'm attempting to blow the queen bug up," came Carter's voice over the radio. Ok, so she hadn't really been asking permission at that point, more just informing him. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

This take charge side of Carter was going to take a while to get used to. He was much more used to her explaining the options and asking permission. "Fire in the hole," she announced right before he heard the concussion of a grenade. As the explosion ripped the air, Jack's gut tightened. Were his two scientists OK?

He didn't have to wonder long. The two team members in question came running around the corner, firing back behind them. Back-to-back, the four of them formed a lethal square, protecting each other's backs and slowly clearing the hall of bugs.

Before long, the clacking of metal feet had subsided and the corridor had no more intact bugs. "Well, that went well," Jack commented, a little surprised at their success. He couldn't help but wonder, if his little group had been able to clear so many of the Replicators, how many had it taken coming through the Stargate for his future self to order the self destruct be activated at the SGC?

"At least these are still fairly primitive. They get a lot worse over the years," Sam commented as if she'd read his thoughts. He glanced at her. He didn't think she realized how haunted her eyes looked. She looked battle weary, shell shocked. He'd seen that look on older soldiers, sometimes reflected back in his own mirror, but never on such a young officer. Not for the first time he wished he could wipe the pain away from her.

"Thor," he said into the air, hoping it worked for him too and he didn't look like an idiot. Instead of answering, the now familiar feel of the white light enveloped him and deposited him and the rest of his team on the bridge.

"Thank you, O'Neill," Thor said from behind his console. "When Colonel Carter,"

"Captain Carter, Thor," Sam corrected. "In the future I came from, I'm a Lt Colonel, but in this time I'm a Captain," she explained. There was something in her voice Jack wasn't sure of, he tried to read her face, but she had learned to cover her emotions somewhere along the line.

"When Captain Carter," the Asgard commander began again after a slight pause, "destroyed the queen, I was able to restore some of the ship's systems. The rest should be repaired shortly." He seemed to consider them for a moment. "Thank you all," he told them, sincerity apparent in his words. "I have informed the counsel that we will be arriving shortly and of your success in defeating the Replicators aboard my ship."

That should help matters Jack thought. It certainly couldn't hurt. "What happens when we get there, Thor?" he asked.

"I am not sure, O'Neill," Thor answered, surprising him. "I believe that the council will wish to hear what Captain Carter knows of the Replicators and how our plan to trap them fails in her timeline."

"Carter doesn't go anywhere without us." He didn't like how the Asgard could simply beam them anywhere they pleased. It was easy and there was no warning. He wanted some assurances.

"Colonel," Sam started, but he silenced her with a hand. More confidence, more experience notwithstanding, he was not about to let her go into this situation alone.

"I'm her commanding officer, no decisions will happen without me there, without the team there ideally. Before we help you I need some reassurance from you." They'd just proven they could be an asset, it was now or never that they begin to interact more as equals and less at the mercy of Thor's race.

He could see the nervousness in Sam's face, but she didn't say a word. He was glad to see that she'd settled back into the team and trusted him. The little incident in the Hall of Might had left him questioning if that was possible. They had some adjusting to do, but he was starting to feel like they'd get through it.

Thor seemed to consider for a moment. "I cannot guarantee that the council will agree, but you have my word I will do my best to honor your request." Jack had the feeling that their host was taking a pretty big stand in their corner depending on how things went. He'd have to take what he could get.

"That's good enough for me," Jack told the Asgard.

.

. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

.

Sam watched the byplay between Jack and Thor. She wasn't surprised when Thor agreed to O'Neill's demands, but she was relieved. She was actually feeling more hopeful than she had since she'd woken up in the past after setting the self destruct. Fighting the Replicators aboard Thor's ship had felt good. That small victory, as well as doing something physical and real, had helped.

"How long until we get to your world, Thor?" Daniel asked, coming to stand beside Jack in front of the control platform. Teal'c didn't move, he'd stayed at her shoulder since they'd been beamed back to the bridge of the Beliskner. His support helped too, a lot.

"Thank you, Teal'c," she said quietly. From the beginning of their adventure, he'd been the most accepting of her story and of the changes in her which had surprised her. In the future they'd be good friends, but she'd been as confused by Teal'c in the beginning as any of them.

"You are most welcome, Captain Carter," he intoned with a slight bow in her directions. Any comfort that she could get at this point, she'd take. She'd never negotiated with the Asgard Council or had direct dealings with them. The prospect made her nervous. Thank God for her team's support and for Jack's over protectiveness. As irritating as it could be at times, right now she could have kissed him for his foresight.

"You ok?" Jack's voice beside her startled her. She'd been lost in her thoughts.

"A little nervous about what the Council will say," she admitted.

"Thor says we will be there in a few minutes," Daniel supplied, coming up between Jack and Teal'c. Wow, that hadn't taken long. "We'll all be right there with you," he assured her. Sam took strength from the support of the extraordinary men surrounding her.

She could feel the warmth and strength coming off of Jack's body beside her. "If they pull you out of here without at least one of us, you don't say a word. I want one of us there with you at all times."

"Yes, Sir," she wasn't sure how she was going to keep that promise if they refused, but she would try her best. He searched her eyes for a minute, before laying a hand along the back of her arm.

"This is going to work out fine," he told her, his voice sure. She didn't know how to answer that. He didn't know half of what the bugs were capable of. The most advanced race she knew of in the galaxy hadn't been able to defeat them. "Carter." He wasn't going to let this go.

"Yes, Sir," she agreed reluctantly. "It is going to be fine," she repeated his words, not breaking eye contact. His hand tightened on her arm, lending her his strength in the only way he could with everyone around them.

Sam finally nodded. They'd all been through some pretty crazy things. The Asgard were going to help them. There wasn't any other way she could think. As if on cue, Thor chose that moment to appear behind Daniel.

"We have arrived. The Council has agreed to see Captain Carter and allow your team to observe. I have assured them of your good conduct, O'Neill. I will be with you as well." Wow, Thor had gone out on a limb for them after barely one meeting, Sam thought, surprised, while at the same time not. They were already developing the friendship she feared would not happen without the Replicators causing them to work together so many times. Maybe with a little help the future would take care of itself.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Sorry about the long… long… delay. I don't usually do that. I figured I'd post a chapter today and let you know that I am trying to finish the whole story before I post anymore. That way there will be one delay then regular posts. I got involved in building a haunted house for a charity here in Leesburg, Virginia (check out my profile) so my writing time has been severely curtailed, but it is for an amazing cause (kids with Autism). Anyway, I am hoping posting helps me catch the bug again and start writing a bit more regularly. Thank you everyone that is still reading and everyone reviewing. As always, thank you Gategirl7!

Previously:

"This is going to work out fine," he told her, his voice sure. She didn't know how to answer that. He didn't know half of what the bugs were capable of. The most advanced race she knew of in the galaxy hadn't been able to defeat them. "Carter." He wasn't going to let this go.

"Yes, Sir," she agreed reluctantly. "It is going to be fine," she repeated his words, not breaking eye contact. His hand tightened on her arm, lending her his strength in the only way he could with everyone around them.

Sam finally nodded. They'd all been through some pretty crazy things. The Asgard were going to help them. There wasn't any other way she could think. As if on cue, Thor chose that moment to appear behind Daniel.

"We have arrived. The Council has agreed to see Captain Carter and allow your team to observe. I have assured them of your good conduct, O'Neill. I will be with you as well." Wow, Thor had gone out on a limb for them after barely one meeting, Sam thought, surprised, while at the same time not. They were already developing the friendship she feared would not happen without the Replicators causing them to work together so many times. Maybe with a little help the future would take care of itself.

Chapter 21

Jack shifted in his seat between Daniel and Teal'c. Sam was standing with Thor in the middle of a brightly lit floor that reminded him very much of a modern version of a Roman coliseum. Thor had just finished retelling the story of SG1 using the Hall of Might to contact him. There were a few whispers around the room as Thor turned to Sam and instructed her to tell the story of the disastrous future she'd lived before being sent back in time. "Any detail that you do not feel pertinent to the discussion of the Replicators should be avoided, Captain Carter." Thor instructed.

Sam nodded. Jack could see the stress in the lines of her body and the way she held herself, but there wasn't anything he could do for her at that moment. She's not the wet-behind-the-ears captain you're used to, O'Neill, he told himself again, glancing around at the beings shadowed in the seats around him, but even knowing that about her, he couldn't stop trying to protect her. Sitting still while she sat there vulnerable was against every instinct he had.

Ruthlessly squashing the desire to do something, Jack listened to Sam again describe the SGC being overrun by the bugs. Having battled the mechanical monsters, the story held more meaning this time. The clanking of thousands of little metal legs echoed in his head. He shuddered to think of what it must have been like for her to watch them as they poured through the gate into the SGC. For a moment he froze, his thoughts on the fact that loosing the SGC and sacrificing himself to those demonic little bugs was in his future if this didn't go well.

Refocusing, Jack listened to her tell of the human form replicators and the enemy's progress through the galaxy. The story she told now had a lot more detail than the one she'd told him on his back deck. He noticed she stopped often. She must have been deciding what details to gloss over and which needed to be told.

"God, Jack," Daniel's voice in his ear startled him, but he didn't give any outward signs, just glanced once at the young man beside him. "It's true." The despair in his voice pulled Jack from his own thoughts. Another of his kids needed him. "She isn't our Sam." He seemed to catch himself. "I mean she is, but she has been through so much. I'm just beginning to understand how much this has got to be killing her. She needs us Jack."

"Yeah," he agreed. "We're here Daniel. None of us are going anywhere." He assured his young friend.

"Indeed, O'Neill is correct Daniel Jackson," Teal'c's quiet voice soothed him as much as anything could. "There may be little we can do now but support Samantha Carter, but the time will come that our actions will be required."

Jack nodded. Quite the mouthful for his usually silent warrior friend, but he was right. All they could do was wait and help where they could.

"The future is not to be taken lightly," came a voice out of the darkness surrounding the men. Jack resisted the urge to look around again. There was no point anyway. The light was brighter on where they sat than on the rest of the seats. There wasn't a way to see who was speaking, just shadows. His stomach clenched with anticipation. If these beings didn't help them, he didn't want to think what that would do to Carter or what their chances would be to stop the destruction of Earth.

"You were right, Commander Thor, to bring this before the council." Well that sounded like a good sign to him, Jack thought as the speaker continued. "We must now talk about what has been discussed here and decide if we have the right to change the future."

Before anyone could say any more, Jack felt the familiar white light envelope him and suddenly found himself back in the room on Thor's ship that they'd all been waiting in before.

Spinning around, he was relieved to see the rest of his team with him. "Well, that went well." He decided out loud.

"Ya, think," Sam shot back, surprising him. Nope, not the quiet, slightly in awe, captain he was used to dealing with. He found himself liking the change. She must have read his surprise in his face. She smiled at him sheepishly. Jack found himself very much wanting to put his arm around her and pull her to him, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and settled on a quick smile in her direction. Damn being behind the curve sucked. Not a place you're used to being old man. He thought ruefully.

"What do you think they mean by, 'if they have the right to change the future?'" Daniel asked. "Do you really think they would allow what is going to happen with the Replicators to occur?"

"Yes," Sam's answer was way too quick and sure for comfort. "If they think that it is wrong to interfere in the timeline then I believe that they will say no to our request for help and they will refuse to hear me." Sam slid a hand through her hair and sank down on to the bench.

Reacting on instinct, Jack didn't hesitate. Maybe he couldn't comfort her like he would like to, but he could offer her the comfort of his support. Walking across the small room and settling beside her, he took a moment, trying to find words.

"Look, if this thing goes south with the Asgard, we will figure out what to do." Sam lifted her face to him. He could see the worry and tension in her eyes and the lines around her mouth. Her eyes were what drew him in so completely. They were so much older than what should be looking back at him. He'd seen eyes like that looking back at him in the mirror. That thought made him sad. He wondered what they'd all been through in her future? How had he allowed the kind of jaded hardness of an officer who'd seen and done too many terrible things to end up on his Captain's face.

"Thank you, Sir," she told him finally, holding his gaze for a moment. He could see the gratitude in the depth of her stare and something more that made his heart speed in his chest. When she turned from him to answer a question Daniel had asked, Jack found himself unable to look away.

In that moment she'd accepted his comfort, she hadn't been protecting herself. Hadn't had the mask up she'd been using on them since they'd 'met' her. In that moment he felt like he was seeing into her soul. Shaking his head slightly at the irony of him waxing poetic, Jack considered what he'd seen. The despair broke his heart, but he'd expected to see that. The love that was there in her look, the trust in him, however, floored him. No hero worship or subordinate's faith in their commanding officer. What he saw was plain old love and trust. She wasn't the kind of woman that gave those things easily. He couldn't help but wonder again at the things that had happened between them.

"Jack," Daniel's voice had the forceful tone he got when he was being ignored. The man must have asked him a question, more than once.

"Daniel," he answered in his best 'annoy Daniel' voice.

"You weren't listening, were you?" The aggravated scientist pushed his glasses up his face and brushed his too-long hair out of the way.

"Nope." Jack waited for the explosion. Well he couldn't exactly admit that he'd been contemplating Carter and not paying attention so better to go for the usual dumb, oblivious act he used to break the tension on hard missions.

"I said," Daniel repeated taking an aggravated breath, "Do you think…"

"The council has made a decision," Thor interrupted, appearing in front of them in a flash of light. Daniel's eye roll at still not getting his question heard was priceless. The little guy had real potential as a possible straight man.

Jack stood as the little alien came to a stop beside the bench Carter was on. "The council wishes to know more." The relief on Sam's face lifted his spirits. He had no idea how they'd have 'figured something out' without the more advanced race helping them.

"What's the catch?" Sam asked, not moving from her place.

"Hey now Carter, cynical is my _shtick_**," **he blurted, surprised at the sentiment coming from her and not from him. But she was right. There had to be a catch. "So, what's the catch?" he repeated a bit sheepishly. The indulgent almost smile she gave him was worth it.

Thor didn't answer right away, he blinked slowly as if he was trying to figure out what they wanted to know, or maybe just how to tell them. "What Jack is asking," Daniel piped up, "is what you need from us?"

Thor still didn't answer for a moment. This could be bad. "We need to know more of the events that led up to your planet being destroyed in the future." Ok, that wasn't so bad, but it was still sounding way too easy.

"She's already told you that whatever you need to know she will tell you," Daniel was quick to defend Sam. Jack was glad to see that the young man was fully behind her now despite his misgivings about her knowledge of his family.

"The information that we need may be more than Captain Carter can give us verbally. We have a device that will allow her memories to be seen by all." Thor's voice was very matter of fact, but Jack didn't miss the cringe his words caused Sam.

"Is this necessary," he questioned. "What can you get from this device that you can't get from Carter telling you? Do you believe she would hold something back when it's the fate our world hanging in the balance?"

"Scanning Captain Carter's memories will answer the counsel's questions more fully and in a much shorter amount of time. Her memories will be scanned by the computer as well should we have later questions."

"Are you OK with this, Carter?" He couldn't imagine that she was or what choice they had, but damn it, he'd find a way if she wasn't ok.

Sam closed her eyes for a second as if gathering her thoughts. "I don't want you there, Sir." She said. Here words sent shock through him. "Please trust me," she was almost pleading with him. Jack's heart broke for that plea, but he never considered changing his answer.

"No deal, Carter," he informed her quietly. "You don't go back in there without your team."

"O'Neill is right, Samantha Carter," Teal'c spoke for the first time since they'd been beamed back to Thor's ship. "You will not do this alone."

"Whatever you think we might see that is going to upset us is nothing compared to how upset we'd be if we missed some piece of information that saved the world or maybe one of us or you." Daniel added.

"Then it is decided," Thor announced.

"No," Sam shouted, gaining the alien's attention as he turned back to the panel. He was probably getting ready to beam them back to wherever they needed to go for the test, Jack decided.

"You don't understand," Sam explained, moving to stand in front of him. Her eyes held so much more than professional fear when she turned them on him. "I won't be able to control the memories when they ask me questions. What if I show you something that has nothing to do with the Replicators, but changes the future in other ways? What if we defeat the bugs, but then because of something you've seen here, one of you makes a decision that changes the future and ends it or one of your lives in ways that should never have been?"

Jack didn't have an answer for that. He could only reach out and take her by the shoulders. Reaching hard for something comforting to say, he was saved by Thor's hand on his arm. He almost jumped in spite of himself.

"That point was brought up to the council." Thor's voice was calm and pulled Sam's eyes from Jack. The haunted look in hers was more than Jack knew how to fix. He was grateful for the little alien's intervention. "The moment that you came into this timeline you began to make changes. Even now you have altered our interaction with your race. The future you know and try so hard to protect is already being rewritten. For this reason we have decided to put aside our policy of not allowing time manipulation. It has already begun." Jack was following mostly. He wasn't connected to a future he knew nothing about. There here and now was his concern. He was relieved that Sam was focusing on what she was being told.

"We need as much information as you can give us and my agreement with Colonel O'Neill precludes him or the rest of your team from being excluded."

"Jack," She'd called him by his name, a chill ran through him. What didn't she want him or the rest of his team to see? "Please let me do this part alone." She asked one more time.

"No." He didn't leave any room for discussion. He wasn't going to allow her to make this personal. They'd agreed. No way in hell she'd go have her brain played with by these aliens, well meaning or not, without him right there with her.

She searched his face for a moment. He didn't allow any of the compassion he felt for her, or his feelings for her to show. He stared back at her every inch her commanding officer.

Sam nodded once. She'd gotten the message. He was relieved, but how much of a difference was this going to make in their fledgling relationship if they survived and got home? He couldn't allow that to matter. Her safety and that of the mission was the only thing he could think about. He squeezed her shoulders one last time and nodded his understanding, hoping that she got even part of the things he couldn't afford to say.

"Ok, Thor, when you beam us back this time, leave me on the same level as Carter," He barely had the words out before they were beamed back into the same hall as before. He was sitting in a seat against the wall, next to Thor. Jack glanced above him. He was sure the rest of SG1 had the same seats they'd been in last time. He was starting to trust the little being at his side, he realized. Looking up, Jack caught Sam's eye. She was seated in what almost looked like a high tech dentist chair in the middle of the floor right across from him. There was another of the aliens that he didn't recognize quietly speaking to her. Here we go, Jack thought, fairly sure he wasn't ready.


	22. Chapter 22 Exploring the Corners

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Thank you everyone that is still reading though my delayed posts. I had lots of emails and some reviews asking if I was going to keep updating Reflections. Thank you, that helped me push through a bout of real life and start writing on this story again. I'm going to do my best to post once a week. As Always: thank you Gategirl7 for being an awesome beta! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Previously:

Sam nodded once. She'd gotten the message. He was relieved, but how much of a difference was this going to make in their fledgling relationship if they survived and got home? He couldn't allow that to matter. Her safety and that of the mission was the only thing he could think about. He squeezed her shoulders one last time and nodded his understanding, hoping that she got even part of the things he couldn't afford to say.

"Ok, Thor, when you beam us back this time, leave me on the same level as Carter." He barely had the words out before they were beamed back into the same hall as before. He was sitting in a seat against the wall, next to Thor. Jack glanced above him. He was sure the rest of SG1 had the same seats they'd been in. He was starting to trust the little being at his side, he realized. Looking up, Jack caught Sam's eye. She was seated in what almost looked like a high tech dentist chair in the middle of the floor right across from him. There was another of the aliens that he didn't recognize quietly speaking to her. Here we go, Jack thought. Pretty sure he wasn't ready.

Chapter 22 – Exploring the Corners

Sam tried to relax as Kvasir began placing small disks on her forehead. She didn't acknowledge to anyone how well she knew the Asgard scientist. All she could think about was the fact that her team, her family for all these years, was sitting there watching along with a room full of Asgard.

She could think of so many memories that she didn't want them to see right off the bat and quite a few of them had to do with the Replicators. Anything that had to do with the replicators might come out. Daniel ascending and descending, Jack's goodbye as the bugs invaded. What if they asked a question that lead to Ba'al, or the Tok'ra, or how she begged Jack to be implanted only to have him tortured over and over?

What if somehow the memory of Teal'c telling Daniel he'd killed Sha're to save Daniel's life was triggered? At this point, in this timeline, would Daniel ever forgive Teal'c? Their relationship was very new. The whole team dynamic was very new. What if she showed Jack something that made him turn away from her?

And those were probably some of the safer memories she could hurt her friends with. Sam fully realized that it was necessary for the Asgard to see what had happened, but her team didn't need to be there.

I should have fought harder, she thought. But then she saw a perfect picture in her head of the look on Jack's face just moments ago. He wouldn't have budged on letting her do this alone and there wasn't anything at all she could have done to shake him. For him the weirdness of their lives was too new and he was still too hard a man. That thought made her smile. The truth was no matter how much Jack had softened to her or the team over the years, when he made up his mind, there was no dissuading him. She just had to hope that nothing he or the rest of the team saw would be too terrible or cause any lasting harm.

Trying to distract herself from the worry, Sam concentrated on the apparatus they had just finished hooking up to her. She'd expected them to use some form of the Goa'uld memory recall device that she'd encountered before, but the mechanism she was looking at was totally different.

"Commander Thor said that you appeared to be familiar with the instrument I have attached to you. Do you have any questions before I activate it?" Kvasir asked.

"This isn't the device I had been expecting you to use," she confessed. "How does it work?" Sam's natural curiosity kicked in, easing some of her nerves. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she had thought, and she could have a little more control over where she directed the memories.

"I will demonstrate," the scientist told her as he nodded to someone behind her. "I have activated the device. It is of Ancient design. Are you familiar with the Ancients?"

Without any conscious thought on her part, a three dimensional, slightly see through hologram appeared in front of her, a few feet in the air. The image was Jack struggling in an Ancient head sucker.

Sam was fascinated in spite of herself. The detail was perfect, including herself and Daniel standing nearby. Then it occurred to her that Jack was seeing this too. She spared a glance his way. The shadows from the wall he was sitting against were doing a good job of hiding most of his face, but she could see the tightness in his body. The way he sat in his seat screamed his discomfort.

Sam tried to control the process and shut the image off. The scene continued, flickering slightly, but not stopping, despite her effort. How ironic was it that this memory was of an event that basically started Jack's relationship with the Asgard.

As if someone had turned the station, the picture playing out in front of her changed to show Jack stumbling out of the Asgard's Stargate. Sam watched in shock as one of the Asgard she didn't recognize reach for Jack and help him to his feet. She hadn't been there! The realization shot through her. "How is this possible," she challenged. "I wasn't there. This isn't my memory." It just wasn't possible for her to remember something she hadn't experienced.

Just as the holographic Asgard was telling Jack that their race had great potential and he was informing them that the people of Earth were already out there, the image disappeared. So there was a way to control the device. Sheer shock and disbelief seemed to interrupt the flow of imagery a bit, she thought derisively. "I was never there," Sam tried again, turning in her seat as much as the straps would allow. "I can't be remembering things I never saw."

Kvasir looked up at her with big eyes. She could see the impatience on his face. "The device uses your memories to find the actual event in the space, time continuum. It is not necessary for you to understand." It was obvious that she wasn't going to get anymore of an explanation. This being was so different from her friend Thor, she mused, trying to think of an argument to convince the scientist to explain. She was unprepared when a new scene appeared in front of her.

The image of Thor walked down the ramp at the SGC, having just exited Earth's Stargate. "I have come by Stargate because there are no ships to spare. My home world is being threatened by the replicators. Thus far, all attempts to stop them have failed. I have come here to seek your help." As the hologram image of her memories continued, Sam glanced at Kvasir. He was fascinated. As were most of the Asgard she could make out.

Holographic O'Neill looked so relaxed with Thor. Sam again marveled at how young they all were and how much their experience through the 'gate changed them in such a small amount of time.

As the memory played out, Sam watched holographic Thor explain that the Asgard had tried to stop the replicators and that they needed SG1's help. "You have demonstrated their weakness may be found from a less sophisticated approach. We are no longer capable of such thinking," he'd said.

It was a very disconcerting feeling to see a more confident Daniel than the one sitting in the gallery step forward and ask the advanced alien if he was actually saying that they "needed someone dumber than you are?"

"I think I can handle it, sir," she'd told Hammond when she'd volunteered to go. She'd been nervous about helping, but Thor had proven to be a good friend and a great teacher. As the scene played on, it seemed to move slightly faster than real time. She watched the holographic representation of herself and Thor work through destroying 'The O'Neill" and saving their world.

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* * *

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Jack watched Sam's memories. The things he saw were hard to believe. He watched his team, well his future team, interact with the aliens like it was the most natural thing in the world. Jack examined each member while he took in the information that was being revealed.

Daniel was more at ease and had a much better haircut in the future. Teal'c still looked like Teal'c, but seemed less stiff. Sam was much surer of herself as she volunteered and walked up the ramp, but it was himself that Jack couldn't take his eyes off of. He was much greyer. Time had not been kind he thought critically.

Beyond how much he'd aged, his confidence in his 2IC was the next thing to catch his eye, as was how strong his feelings for her were. They were obvious. He hoped he wasn't that easy for anyone else to read, but to him, his love and confidence for Samantha Carter were plainly written all over his future self.

As Jack watched the memory play, he could hear comments going on around him, but he couldn't make them out, and he wasn't even sure they were in any language he'd ever heard. Apparently what audience around him was seeing was making an impression on the alien race. He didn't disagree with them, it was making an impression on him too.

Future Thor seemed to have every confidence in Sam and she was obviously at home as she convinced the more advanced race to destroy a ship they'd named after future Jack O'Neill. Resisting the urge to massage his suddenly pounding head, Jack pushed that thought away for now. He wasn't sure how to deal with the fact that he was to become important enough for the aliens to name a starship after him. That was something he didn't want to think about. He was barely used to dealing with aliens of any kind yet, and certainly wasn't up for trusting any of them the way he saw his future self trusting these beings. As the image changed, Jack watched Sam's plan work and the replicator ships blow up. That seemed to stir the crowd quite a bit. The din of whispered voices rose.

As the afternoon went on, Sam was asked question after question. The images played fast across the screen. Jack watched people shaped replicators stick their hands into each of his team's heads, including his own. He watched himself order Sam to leave the robot that had helped them escape behind and could see how much she didn't want to follow his order. Later, as he watched her be tortured by Fifth and watched himself find her in the woods after she'd talked herself free, he had trouble swallowing the lump in his throat.

It wasn't often that a officer got to watch movies of his bad decision making and the results show right after, he thought. Jack was grateful that no one was trying to talk to him or expecting anything from him at that moment. "Great decision making there, O'Neill," he muttered to himself. Even seeing the direct result of a decision gone bad shown that clearly to him, Jack quietly admitted to himself he'd probably make that same choice again. Wasn't that one of his strengths his superiors had always counted on? Even seeing the pain someone would be caused by a decision he made, he'd make it again if he thought it was for the best. He wondered again how Sam could want to be with such a bastard.

"Your race has come far," one of the voices above him raised enough to make it above the general crowd. "We would not have expected that we could become such good friends with such primitive beings." It was hard not to take offense at that, but at least it seemed like a fairly positive statement. Maybe these aliens would help after all.


	23. Chapter 23 Rabbit Holes

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Thank you to everyone that is still reading and all of you that have been kind enough to leave me what you thought of my story so far. And of course, thank you Gategirl7 for being an awesome beta! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Chapter 23

An alien they hadn't been introduced to before came down the stairs and came to a stop in front of Sam. "Heimdall," Sam greeted the being. Jack had to smile at the look on the alien's face. Their expressions were hard to read but he was getting better. He didn't think he'd ever be able to tell them apart the way Carter did. Not much difference between them that he could see.

"How do you know me in your time?" That question surprised Jack; until now all the questions had pertained to the replicators. The crowd seemed to have the same reaction. Heimdall held a long grey hand up. Apparently it meant the same in Asgard speak as it did in human because the room quieted. Sam's memories were already beginning to appear.

Jack watched as a holographic Heimdall showed a holographic SG1 the Asgard ancestor. The little alien was explaining about them having lost their ability to reproduce and where they'd found the body of their ancestor. The scene switched quickly to them discussing saving Thor. The fact that the memory version of Jack O'Neill never hesitated when he was arguing for saving Thor told Jack a lot about the friendship and how much his future self had come to trust the little being. Apparently, in the future, they were close enough that he considered Thor as part of his people and was applying his 'no one left' behind code to the commander. That spoke volumes about what the future two of them must have been through together.

"Enough," Heimdall nodded and the memories being shown blinked out. "I believe we have seen enough. I am not a voting member of the council, but I am a senior member of the Sciences. I believe to see more is pointless and perhaps harmful. We have been presented with information sufficient to make a decision." That was unexpected. Jack raised an eyebrow and looked behind him. He wished he could see the beings around him more clearly.

"I agree in part with Heimdall," the scientist working on Sam addressed the room for the first time. "I believe that we must see one more event. We must see how their world ended, and the events that caused Samantha Carter to be moved backward in the timeline."

The look on Sam's face caught Jack's eye. She was pale and her eyes wide. This was probably one of those moments she didn't want to show them. It would essentially be showing them their own deaths; not to mention she had lived it once already and blamed herself for it.

Jack's heart broke for her. The look on her face said it all. "Hold up, hold up," He wasn't sure what he was going to say at that moment, but he needed to try to help. He really couldn't see the point of showing them their deaths. He'd be fine, maybe a little uncomfortable, but fine. Teal'c too, but it was going to kill Sam watching this stuff over again and wouldn't be too good for Daniel either. He'd been through enough lately and was having trouble with this situation as it was.

Jack stood up. As he was crossing the small distance between his chair and Sam, he was surprised that no one tried to stop him. The two Asgard he in front of him just waited quietly for him to reach them. The slightly bigger one that had identified himself as Heimdall seemed a little more patient than the one next to the memory machines. Thor stood up from his position off to the side and was obviously going to intercept him, but Jack simply held up a hand. "Hang on a second, buddy," he instructed. "Not going to cause a problem here, just have a few questions myself."

He could see a new kind of worry in Sam's eyes too. When had she stopped seeing him as someone she could count on and started seeing him as someone to protect? The thought didn't sit well with him. They would be talking about this later.

"I think we've shown you that we have something to offer here. After all, looks like we save Thor's life a few times and help rescue your science project." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sam drop her eyes and smile slightly. Good. Better was that the aliens were listening to him.

"Seems to me that seeing all the dirty little details of how our world was destroyed, making my team watch how they die and putting Major Carter through having to show us all of that is not really necessary." He glanced toward the audience, but the lights wouldn't let him make anything out. "Dead is dead," he continued. "If we get to that point, then we've already lost again so unless you can give me a good reason why you need to see that memory, I think Heimdall has a point about enough being enough."

The scientist working on Carter stepped from behind the machine and looked Jack up and down. It was a bit disconcerting. Who would have thought such a little fellow could have such an intimidating stare?

"O'Neill is right, Kvasir," Thor agreed, not moving from his place near the wall. "We have seen enough to know our mistakes and what is to come."

"I wish to see the device that brought Samantha Carter to this juncture in the timeline and what led up to the device malfunctioning." Kvasir's request wasn't that out of line, Jack considered. He could see why they would want to know that.

"Is there a way to ask just about that part of the memory?" Jack questioned. That seemed reasonable to him. "You don't need to see it all. Maybe the last few minutes leading up to her using the device?" That had to be fairly safe. It was the best he figured he'd get.

"Can you be that specific?" Carter's voice was shaky. She looked pale and drawn. He wasn't sure if her distress was from the machine or her memories. She'd been through the ringer the last few days. She met Jack's eyes as they waited for the little alien to answer. He knew what she wanted. She wanted him to leave and take the rest of SG1 with him. No way in hell he'd leave her alone. He knew the team felt the same or he'd have stopped and had them sent back to Thor's ship. They all needed to be on the same page. The time for information to be held back was over.

"I believe so." Kvasir started moving knobs around before reactivating the device. "Please remember the device you used to time travel and how you were able to use it."

Jack stepped back to his seat as the question was being asked. He turned around just in time to see his future self looking up at a screen in the SGC's control room. Lights were flickering off and on. The room was deserted except for he and Carter. They were looking at a giant bug with lots of little bugs running over and around it. The creature had taken up residence right next to the Stargate.

"We can't open the gate, Sir, and take the chance that they would follow us through and invade another world," Sam was telling the holographic him.

"I know, Carter," the other him snapped. He could see the tension running off of future him. The light caught the star of his rank as he rolled his shoulders under the stress. Sam's body language showed she agreed. Jack felt a surge of pride go through him as he automatically noted the golden eagles on Carter's shoulders and how composed she was in the face of what probably appeared to be a death sentence for both of them.

"I'm setting the self destruct; you need to turn your key with me, General." In the midst of their own deaths and the destruction of the SGC, maybe their world, she was prompting him to do what they had to do. Professional and courageous to the end, she'd become a damn fine officer. The easy partnership he saw between his future shelf and hers spoke of years of near death experiences shared. Jack's heart hurt for her and what she'd gone through for them to be at that point.

"Sir, we still have the Quantum mirror in the storage." Her voice lifted with her sudden inspiration. The idea made her turn to the man beside her with hope in her eyes. "If we can get through it, and contact the Asgard in whatever reality we end up in, we can get them to help us get back to this reality. We have the communication stones," she pointed out, holding an oblong stone up, before tossing it to him. The General raised an eyebrow but deposited the stone in his pocket. "I know the Asgard can tell the resonance from one reality to another. I had that discussion with Thor once." Her expression was alive with the beginnings of a plan. Jack watched his holographic self lose a little of his tension and take on a look of sadness and love. No one else would have recognized it. He did. The future him knew that one or both of them were going to die, and he was saying goodbye. The future Colonel Carter just didn't know that.

"They can probably help us get back to this reality," Sam was telling her General. "Thor said he had knew of the Quantum Mirrors, they had one in a museum in a force field to keep it from being activated. Whatever reality we get to, we use their mirror and contact the Asgard in that reality to get back to our reality." Sam watched her commander for a moment before turning her attention back to the panels in front of her and punching in more commands.

"You know how completely crazy this plan is right, Colonel?" Jack had to agree with his future self. He frowned at the thought of the new experience of agreeing with himself and concentrated on what was being shown.

"Crazier than riding an asteroid through the Earth?" she challenged. Jack blinked at that, they'd done that? Dismissing that thought, he studied the faces of the two on the screen. It was obvious that the banter was common between them and seemed to be bringing them both comfort. Jack looked away from Sam's memories and met her eyes. Her face had so much grief etched into it. He caught her eye and tried to reassure her from across the room. She seemed to take comfort in his efforts. Good, he couldn't do much, but he was glad the little bit he could do seemed to help.

"Yup," General O'Neill answered as Jack turned back to the images playing out before them. The older him was punching buttons along side of her now. They worked together flawlessly.

"Crazier than blowing up a sun?" she tried again, working keys as she talked. They were setting the self destruct. Jack's jerked his head around to look at Sam again. "Blowing up a Sun", Jack mouthed at his Sam as she sat in the chair. She shrugged, but Jack logged that statement for questioning later.

"That too," the general confirmed.

"You're right," Colonel Carter agreed, not stopping her work.

"I like it," General O'Neill declared. "My kind of crazy, Colonel," he declared. "Probably don't even need a plan B."

"Glad you like it, Sir." She nodded at him and on the count of three they turned their keys and the self destruct was activated. As one, they grabbed weapons they'd laid down to set the controls and headed to the door. The noise in the room was deafening. The bugs were trying to come through the blast doors that they'd just shut over the viewing glass. As the two officers reached the door, the computer blinked and chirped.

Colonel Carter stopped and looked over her shoulder. She fixed huge eyes on the General. Hope was no longer in her face or body language. "They've stopped the self destruct. The queen bug must be tied into the control panel in the Gate room." She was already turning to head back for the controls. General O'Neill was right on her six, but it was obvious they had different ideas of what to do.

General O'Neill didn't allow his Carter to reach the controls. He caught her by the arm, spun her around and pulled her into his arms. His kiss took a moment to register with her. She seemed to be frozen in his arms as he brought his mouth to hers. Then her brain must have caught up because she was kissing him back for all she was worth.

Jack watched the scene in front of him. His stomach knotted. His feelings for Sam were not as powerful as the emotions he could see written all over his older self, but he could already feel the intensity changing and they'd only begun to explore a relationship.

Colonel Carter must have recognized her CO's actions as the goodbye kiss it was, because she flattened her hands on her General's chest and pushed away from him. "Damn it, Jack, you are not doing this. This is not goodbye."

"I love you, Sam," Future Jack grabbed her hands and pulled her back to his side. "I should have said that, should have done that a long time ago." He let go of her to fish in his pockets and pull out the Asgard Communication Crystal she'd just given him. "Give me the C4 you have left," he ordered, placing the stone in her top pocket.

"There has to be another way," she argued, not moving.

"It has to go down like this, Sam," he told her, his voice kind, but allowing no room for argument. She still hesitated. "C4, Colonel Carter," he was every inch the General. Jack knew the man in her memories was trying to take any blame off of her and make it an order, he must have known Sam would find a way to blame herself for his loss.

Silent tears slipped down the Colonel's face as she searched his for a moment. She didn't say any more, just pulled the C4 from her pocket and deposited it in his outstretched hand. "Get the self destruct set and get to the mirror. Don't look back." He took her by the shoulders. "I'm ordering you to get to that damn mirror and stay alive. Is that understood, Colonel?"

Colonel Carter nodded, a soft "yes, sir," barely heard.

General O'Neill nodded and let go of her. He took a step back, but Jack caught a small tremor in his hands. "I love you, Sam," he told her one last time, kissing her on the forehead and sliding a hand down her cheek.

"I love you too, Jack," Sam answered the older man, catching his hand for a second and holding it against her cheek. They only allowed themselves the barest second of goodbye before they both stepped back and let go of each other. "It has been an honor to serve with you General," she told him, dashing tears away with the back of her hand and turning back to the computer boards. "Disrupt the queen and that should let me take the controls back over," she instructed. "But as soon as you do, the workers will swarm you."

"I got it, Carter," he told her, turning for the door. He stopped for a moment at threshold. The clatter from the bugs was getting louder. "Colonel Carter," he called, grabbing her attention. "It has been my honor to have served with such an outstanding officer. I expect you to follow my orders, Colonel."

"Yes, sir." She didn't turn back to him as she glanced at the countdown clock and set her watch to keep track. Judging from her body language she was struggling to keep it all together. His future self must have known that too because he didn't say anything else, just turned and disappeared from view.

Jack glanced at his Sam. She had closed her eyes. She was even paler and her hands were gripping the sides of the chair so tightly that her fingers were white with effort.

Jack's attention was pulled back to the screen. He watched as she fought her way through the halls of the SGC to the mirror. The device was obviously damaged by the replicators, but she picked up the mirror's remote control device and activated it anyway. Her hand made contact with the mirror just as her watch beeped, signaling that the self destruct time was up. He could see the surprise in her face as she looked at the remote control and back at the mirror. Nothing was happening. She was still on her side of the mirror.

"Broken," she said to no one in particular. "Guess I don't have to live without you after all, Jack." Holographic Sam's matter of fact acceptance of her own death cut Jack deeply. He focused on the screen, finding himself holding his breath. He knew she'd made it through the mirror, but it didn't look good from her memories.

Everything happened fast at that point. The blast wave hit, driving her and the remote into the mirror. The remote shattered, the mirror cracked, and suddenly Sam wasn't on her side of the mirror anymore. She was laying on the floor on the other side.

As they watched, the screen went dead. Jack wasn't sure if it was Carter's memories ending or the scientist turning off the machine, but he was up and out of his seat immediately.

"Ok, that's enough," Jack announced to whoever decided to listen. He reached for the straps holding Sam in the chair as he stopped by her side and began to undo them. "It's ok, Sam," he said in a low voice. "You've done enough for today."

"I agree," Thor was saying from beside him. "I believe we have the information we have asked for." No one contradicted the Commander.

"We will now discuss what you have shown us," Heimdall interrupted. "You may send Colonel O'Neill and his team back to your ship, Commander Thor," he instructed. For a science guy he was good in Jack's book. He seemed to be on their side.

Before he could thank the alien or say anything to Thor, he found himself back in the room they'd all been waiting in before. Sam was shaky, but Jack caught her and helped her catch her balance. Daniel and Teal'c seemed fine. They quickly crossed the room to their teammates and helped Sam sit down on one of the benches.

"Wow, Sam, I am so sorry," Daniel offered. Sam didn't say anything, she just nodded slightly. This was bad. Jack looked up at the other male members of SG1. They looked as worried as he was. She'd been through a lot and if he knew Sam Carter, she hadn't processed anything that had happened to her up until now. She'd been too busy figuring out how to tell them and how to save the universe. She wouldn't have spent time on figuring out her emotions, her grief. He'd been there before. Locking things away in a box was good in his book, but not when the box was opened and shown to a room full of people with you watching.

"Guys, can you give us a minute?" he asked quietly. They both nodded and moved away, going to the other side of the room and keeping their backs toward him and Sam. He could see Daniel was talking excitedly to Teal'c. Even the big guy seemed to have a lot to say, well for him anyway.

Jack dismissed the worry over being so obvious about his concern for his second in command. The cat was probably totally out of the bag with his two team mates after they'd watched the memories of the General planting a kiss on his Colonel and declaring his love, but he figured she might not have thought about that and might respond better without an audience.

Not knowing exactly how to reach the woman sitting almost catatonic beside him, he made an educated guess at what was going on in her head, he picked up her hand and put it over his heart. "We're still here, Sam," he told her, keeping his voice low.

Jack was worried, Sam wasn't responding. She'd been through an incredible amount of trauma in a short amount of time and then had it all played back to her just in case she'd forgotten any of the details. Damn, his gut twisted with worry. What if it was too much? Everyone had their breaking point. "Come on, Sam," he coaxed. "I'm not dead. You're still alive. You and I are fine. We made it. We're right here, alive, together." He pressed her palm against his heart once more time.

When she didn't respond to that, he reached for her and took her face in his hands. Nothing he was saying was making much of an impact. "Look at me, Colonel," he ordered, using the rank he figured was mostly likely to get a response. Her face was so much younger than he'd been watching on the screen. The reality of all that she'd been telling them was beginning to really set in.

"I'm here, Jack," she said, her eyes focusing on him. "I'm sorry. That machine, it was hard for a minute to tell what was real." He let out the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. "Are you OK?" She was worried about him. That thought didn't surprise him, but it touched him.

"I'm fine." He really was, especially now that he knew she hadn't checked out or that damn machine hadn't fried her brain. "Didn't like what I saw, the dying and all, but that's what we are here to try to stop." He glanced at the guys. They were talking and still had turned their back on him and Sam. He'd have to remember to thank them.

"Guess the guys know," she commented, following his eyes. "Is that a problem?"

"I hate to put them in that position if anything goes down, but I don't think it will be an issue," he told her, sliding his hands from her face down her arm as he settled onto the bench beside her. "Wasn't sure what was going on with you," he explained, "didn't think you'd want an audience."

"You sure you're OK with what you saw?" She was obviously worried about something. "No regrets about what we are doing now?" He didn't have regrets, he was scared as hell, but this wasn't the time to go into that, and it was something he didn't want to talk about anyway.

"You two, I mean we two," Jack gestured between them, trying to put words to his thoughts. "What I just watched, the way we were together." He didn't know how to say what he was asking. "I mean, nothing ever happened between us?" It was hard to believe. There had been a whole lot of emotion there.

"No," she confirmed sadly. "You left it up to me. I kept thinking there would be time and the universe needed us and I had a duty to do." She glanced at the guys over her shoulder, then reached for him, laying her hand across his check and sliding her fingers into the hair at the back of his neck. "I believed that until I watched you die. Now I know there is never enough time. I'm not willing to live that life a second time. Watching you die again today just made me surer." She slid closer to him. "As long as you want me, I'm willing to fight for us with everything I have."

"First save the universe, then us, Carter," he suggested, unable to keep the smile out of his tone. She amazed him more each day. Why such an amazing woman felt so strongly about him he wasn't going to guess. Shut up and go with it Jack, he told himself. And pray she never comes to her senses.

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed.

"Sounds like a crazy plan and those don't always work out for us," he pointed out reasonably, a smile still making his words lighter.

"I have a plan B," she pointed out. "Crazy plans always work out when there is a plan B."

"Do tell," he inquired, curious and more than a little infatuated with her teasing.

"I know where Atlantis is," she whispered. "We steal a ship and go live on Atlantis. You'd love the fishing." Sam's face had regained much of its color. Her eyes sparkled with amusement. Jack couldn't resist, he'd be her commanding officer in a few minutes, right now, he needed what was his. Leaning into her, he captured her lips with his.

Her mouth was soft under his. She sighed so low he was sure he'd felt it more than heard it. Keeping in mind that the guys were in the room, he intended to only take a small taste, remind himself that she was alive and so was he.

Sam opened to him right away and pulled herself a little closer. He thought how close she'd come to dying and deepened the kiss, wanting to claim as much of her as he could as quickly as he could. Fire spread out through his body, threatening to burn the corner of his brain that knew he needed to stop.

"Ahhh, guys." Of course then there was Daniel and his timing. Pulling apart, Sam met his eyes with an embarrassed shrug. Jack squeezed her shoulder and focused on the rest of the team.

"Sorry about that guys, I guess I should explain." He wasn't sure what to say. This was new territory for him.

"No need O'Neill," Teal'c spoke up. "On Chulac it also is customary for a warrior to remain quiet about his choice of mate until such time as all contracts are signed and the ritual of claiming, MauKlo, has been preformed. Such a ritual on Chulak requires witnesses." Oh God, was he kidding? "Is it your intent, O'Neill that we now bear witness to MauKlo between you and Samantha Carter?"

"What?" Damn, O'Neill thought, was that his voice with that squeak to it? Was the big guy suggesting what he thought he was? "No, I mean thank you but that's not something you have your buddies witness, big guy."

"Well you were sort of Mauklo-ing over here, Jack," Daniel pointed out reasonably. He was going to kill that boy when he got the chance. Jack could feel himself turning red. He hadn't had the guts to look at Sam's face yet. She was going to kill him. Glancing over at her, Jack was floored to see the teasing light in her eyes and her face more relaxed than he'd seen it in weeks.

"What are you finding so funny?" he demanded, turning his full attention on her now as suspicion seeped through the embarrassment.

"I've been to a few Jaffa weddings," she told him. "Teal'c, I've never heard of Mauklo." Sam turned to the big Jaffa beside her.

"That is because there is no such word as Maulko, Samantha Carter." Teal'c's voice was as deadpan as ever, but it brought a smile to her face and made her chuckle. Jack was floored, he hadn't ever seen his warrior buddy actually initiate a joke like that or tease him so blatantly. He decided he liked it.

"I guess we deserved that," Jack conceded.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"What he said," Daniel piped in.

"What about Sam," Jack wasn't above sharing the blame. "She was in on it too, you know." He pointed out, earning him a light slap across the forearm.

"Samantha Carter is your woman; you bear the responsibility of such actions O'Neill." The man had some big cojonies in Jack's estimation. He wouldn't have gone there with the kick ass woman beside him, but there was an old fashion male part of him that liked her being referred to as 'his woman'. He couldn't help the big grin that spread across his face. Well, maybe he could, but it was going to be fun to watch her reaction so he didn't try.

Sam's face had started out stormy toward Teal'c, but when she turned on him and noticed his huge grin, Sam's eyebrow went straight for the hairline and she got the look he'd always dreaded seeing on his wife or mother's face. Somehow it was him that was in trouble now. Doh!

"Don't worry Teal'c," she assured their teammate with a sickly sweet tone. "No one here will have to worry about seeing any such displays again."

"Hey, wait," Jack protested, catching her meaning and the fact he was the only one that was going to be suffering for the little joke. "That isn't fair," he protested, enjoying that she was joking back with them, while fully realizing he would pay in some manner for the shit eating grin he'd developed at her being called 'his woman'. "Teal'c started it!"

Daniel rolled his eyes but wisely kept out of it. He wasn't even trying to hide his amusement. Sam ignored Jack's remarks. She stood up and turned to Teal'c. He had the good graces to look a little worried. Hard to read the man, but yep, Jack was fairly sure that was worry he saw in the big man's face.

"The council has reached a decision," Thor materialized right in front of them. They all turned to the little alien.

"That's timing! You owe the little guy big time, T," Jack whispered as he came around the bench and stood next to his team to hear the decision. Teal'c raised his eyebrow and bowed his head slightly in agreement. Jack smiled. They'd all done a nice job of distraction. Now if the commander could be the bearer of good news, they might just have a chance of making sure the future Sam had shown them never came to pass.


	24. Chapter 24 Misconceptions

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: I blame Game of Thrones! Those books are addicting! Real life eased up a bit but then those books distracted me! (Well that and the Mexican Hairless Puppy my sister gave me - Xolo's are amazing dogs!) Thank you to everyone that is still reading though my delayed posts! **To all those that have been kind enough to leave reviews and send encouraging messages asking me to finish, I'm obviously struggling to get time to write and to get back into this story, but I have yet to leave a story unfinished and seeing that people are still reading is a big motivator so… Thank you for the encouragement. Gategirl7, my awesome beta, is still hanging in there with me so any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Previously:

"That's timing! You owe the little guy big time, T" Jack whispered as he came around the bench and stood next to his team to hear the decision. Teal'c raised his eyebrow and bowed his head slightly in agreement. Jack smiled. They'd all done a nice job of distraction. Now if the commander could be the bearer of good news, they might just have a chance of making sure the future Sam had shown them never came to pass.

Chapter 24

"The Council feels that we have a responsibility to fix this timeline." Thor stated, not rising from the chair he'd appeared in. Thank God, Sam thought. his words lifted her spirits.

"That's good news," Jack broke in. "Where do we start?" Thor climbed down from his chair and moved to their position. He studied Jack for a moment, turning his head to the side. Sam had learned that usually meant he was deciding his next course of action. It made her nervous when he hesitated like that.

"It has also been decided that Samantha Carter's knowledge of the future, should it become known to the Goa'uld, will make her a target for them." Thor's voice was emotionless as he delivered his news. Sam startled as the realization hit her that the council was right. She wouldn't just be a target for the NID and other factions on Earth, she'd be a target for every alien enemy that had a way to reach her and wanted certain knowledge of future events.

She sought Jack's eyes, but he was too intent on Thor. She could see the tension written in his stance. This was a nightmare. She hadn't thought of the possibility she'd become such a liability to her world, but it was true and, at this point, Earth wasn't in any position to defend against an organized assault from space. They'd been lucky with Apophis. She glanced at Jack's back, where he'd placed himself in front of her. His shoulders stiffened imperceptibly and his body was on alert.

"We will take care of Carter," Jack dismissed the commander's worries. Daniel moved closer to her side, lending her his support. Sam reached for him and squeezed his arm in reassurance.

"We might not be able to right now, Sir," she pointed out, meeting his eyes as he glanced at her over his shoulder. As much as she appreciated his protection of her and his instinct to believe he was the best person to do that, in this case, they needed the Asgard. "Thor's right. I didn't think about it before, but if my knowledge fell into Goa'uld hands, it could do some serious damage."

"I understand that, Carter," he told her in a clipped voice, as he turned back to the alien he was now assessing as a possible threat to her. Sam needed to defuse the situation. She just wasn't sure how. In the beginning of the program they had all believed that they could protect themselves and find a way to protect Earth.

"That's why we need to make sure the snakeheads don't find out and you don't fall into enemy hands, Carter," Jack pointed out as if that was all that needed to be said. It wasn't that simple, but telling him that wasn't going to do any good right now she thought. Sam felt the difference time had made in her commanding officer acutely at that moment.

At this point in this timeline, SG1 was only just starting to realize the full potential of the System Lords for causing destruction. Not to mention that Jack was younger and hadn't suffered as much at this enemy's hands nor had he learned to let the team in as much as he would in later years. Right now, Colonel Jack O'Neill trusted himself much more than he would ever trust anyone else to protect his own.

With a start, Sam suddenly realized she fell into the category of what Jack considered his own much more now than she ever had before. Their new relationship was changing things in ways she hadn't anticipated. This was going to be a test to see if they could keep their word to each other to not let their personal relationship impact their job.

"They're right, Sir," Sam pointed out, moving past Daniel to stand even with Jack. He shifted his focus to her, but his stance and the barely leashed power still radiated off of him. He was still carefully keeping himself between her and Thor. "If our enemies find out about my knowledge, they won't just send two ships, they will send a fleet." She reminded him, hoping he'd be thinking of how close they'd come to not being able to destroy two Goa'uld ships, let alone a whole fleet.

"The council is in agreement," Thor injected. "While Captain Carter's knowledge is beneficial in many ways, it may not only prove dangerous to your planet, but also damaging to your world's development." Sam's heart skipped mid beat. Wow, they didn't just think she could be a liability, they considered her a danger! She'd never expected that. She turned wide eyes to Thor even as she felt Teal'c move beside her protectively. Jack was already moving on Thor.

"What are you saying?" He was every inch an Air Force Colonel used to making hard decisions and not bending when it came to his people, his world. His tone and body were battle ready as he towered over the diminutive alien. All trace of his easy going manner with Thor evaporated. "I don't hear how any of this is helping, and Carter's knowledge is not negotiable. We are not wiping her mind clean or keeping her locked away or …" His words mirrored her fears of what might be suggested to fix the problem the Asgard saw her as. She tensed alongside the rest of her team. Why hadn't she anticipated that this. It was entirely predictable that they'd see her as a threat. She knew how black and white the Council could be at times.

"Removing the knowledge from her mind is not possible," Thor interrupted, still as calm as ever as he held up his hand to forestall Jack's response. "Neither would we undertake such an endeavor without her consent were the action possible." Thor sounded offended. Sam had never heard him sound insulted or upset with them. That was new and she found she didn't like being on the receiving end of his censure. What was happening right here and now was proving the Council's point for them. She had changed the timeline and now, instead of building trust with her friend, she was putting them on opposite sides. Guilt and apprehension cut into her sharp and painfully.

Jack was still between her and Thor, his body quite, coiled. He was anticipating having to protect her. She shivered, unprepared for the damage she thought she was causing to one of their most important alien/human relationships. The Asgard should be their closest friends and allies. This was wrong. "It is the recommendation of the Council, as well as the Science board," Thor continued, somehow managing to look stern enough to keep any of them from interrupting again, "that when the Replicators have been defeated, an Asgard teacher will be assigned to Earth and an Asgard base established there."

Surprise and relief made her knees nearly buckle. "Heimdall has agreed to be that teacher on the condition that Samantha Carter works directly with him. He sees great potential in her, as do I." Thor stated firmly, meeting her eyes and holding them in reassurance. Sam let go of the breath she'd been holding, the knot in the pit of her stomach began to ease.

Wow, she hadn't seen that coming. Thor turned to address her fully and Jack gave ground, letting the alien approach her. "If you agree, Colonel Carter, you would work for Heimdall. Both of you would be under my command and answer to me." She'd be working for Thor and Earth would have an Asgard teacher. That turn of events had never occurred to her. She didn't know quite what to say and she was sure that Jack was going to have issues with this, but for the first time since she'd woken up in her own past, a weight began to lift off of her. She would have guidance on how and when to us her knowledge. She could continue to be useful without living through a rerun of her life, constantly scared she'd say or do the wrong thing.

"Exactly what do you mean by Earth having an Asgard teacher and what would Carter be doing and where?" Jack's voice was reasonable and thoughtful. She was surprised, but then again, Jack was amazing at strategy and there was something very strategic about having the most powerful race in the known universe stationed on your planet. Not to mention the fact that the position would offer her protection from the NID and others in the government that would want to use her. Protection that Jack himself was unable to offer her. The image of Thor showing up in time to keep Kinsey from taking over control of the Stargate from Hammond flashed through her mind.

"Samantha Carter will be given a post in the Sciences. She is to be assigned to help Heimdall with genetic testing." Sam wasn't surprised that their cloning problem was still foremost in their minds. She was surprised that they thought she could help. She wasn't a geneticist, but maybe they were hoping her less complicated approach to their science would be as successful with the genetics as her memories had shown them it was with destroying Replicator ships. She was willing to try.

"Your memories, Samantha Carter, have given the Council much to consider." He paused before continuing. "They have given me much to consider as well." She had shown them so much. Sam wasn't surprised that they had a lot to think about. "I wish you to know that I do not take lightly the friendship that your memories of your timeline have shown to us." He turned to include them all. "I would not have envisioned that your people would have so much to offer so quickly or that I would again call beings of your race my friends. I will do what is necessary to protect what I have seen."

Sam felt tears threaten. She didn't come close to letting them fall, she wasn't going to become an emotional wreck at this stage, but she couldn't help herself, she dropped down and hugged the surprised little alien. As his arms came up to awkwardly pat her on the back, Sam felt another hand at her shoulder.

"I think you're freaking the little guy out, Carter," Jack's voice was gentle and amused. She allowed him to help her stand.

"Sorry about that," she knew her face was turning a little red. She didn't usually give in to her feelings that way. The stress must be getting to her. "If I'm going to work for you, do you think you could call me Sam, or Samantha, or even Carter?" she asked impulsively. Him calling her Colonel Carter felt out of place as she stood next to Colonel O'Neill. Almost as much as being called Captain Carter did. Maybe she was neither at this point.

"I would be honored, Samantha," he answered.

"I'm glad we're all getting along better," Daniel broke in, "but why would you want Sam to help you with genetic testing? That is not her field of expertise."

"And why do that on Earth?" Jack added in.

"When Samantha showed us that you were able to assimilate and use the knowledge contained in the library of the Ancients twice, O'Neill, we scanned your DNA. You are an advancement in human evolution, Colonel O'Neill."

"Me?" Jack's incredulous voice was almost drowned out by Daniel.

"Jack," Daniel's voice almost squeaked. "He's an advancement?" Sam smiled at the look on both men's faces. Some things never changed. Thor blinked back at them with a look she'd learned to read as his 'forbearing the silliness of the humans' look. Her fears of moments before were unfounded she realized. Already the bonds were starting to form. Maybe things didn't have to be exactly the same to have much the same results. She found that thought comforting.

"Heimdall, with Samantha Carter's help, will retrieve the body of our ancestor and we will set up our research facilities on Earth in Antarctica, in the base of the Ancients. Asgard communications and transportation to your Stargate Command will be set up so that you and Heimdall may be able to fulfill you secondary task of overseeing education and advancement of the human race."

Daniel stepped around her to address their host. "So Sam would sort of be the ambassador between Earth and the Asgard? Can you do that with the Protected Planets treaty?" He was right. Sam wasn't sure how any of this did anything more than protect her while on Earth from humans on Earth while waving a red flag in front of the Goa'uld.

The Goa'uld could still attack Earth and other planets in the treaty if they felt that the Asgard were not holding up their end. The advanced race had always been so careful not to break that treaty. She thought about the asteroid that had almost destroyed Earth in her timeline. The Asgard hadn't been able to do anything because it had looked like a natural disaster and they would rather allow Earth to be destroyed than to break the treaty and open all the other planets covered by it up to attack. How would they justify having a base on Earth and a teacher, not to mention that it sounded like Thor would be around quite a bit.

"With the Replicators no longer a threat, the Asgard will be able to expand our protection of planets in this galaxy against Goa'uld threat. We will examine our options after the battle with the Replicators ends."

"Are you saying that you will renegotiate the treaty or do away with it all together and take on the System Lords?" Jack asked the question Sam had been about to.

"We will examine our options after the battle with the Replicators ends," Thor repeated. They weren't going to get any answers beyond that, but the hope that statement gave to the people in the room was palatable.

"Then we must defeat the enemy of the Asgard quickly," Teal'c declared, his deep voice carrying an undertone of hope that they all had begun to feel.


	25. Chapter 25 Out of the Dark

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me. **

AN: Thank you Gategirl7 for being an awesome beta! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back. Hey it was a little quicker this time! Thank you everyone that has sent all the encouraging comments and emails and everyone reviewing. All of you rock!

Previously:

"We will examine our options after the battle with the Replicators ends," Thor repeated. They weren't going to get any answers beyond that, but the hope that statement gave to the people in the room was palatable.

"Then we must defeat the enemy of the Asgard quickly," Teal'c declared, his voice carrying an undertone of hope that they all had begun to feel.

Chapter 25 - Out of the Dark

Jack wasn't sure how he felt about everything that was being said. Carter was going to be working for the aliens and stationed on Earth. She would be out of his ability to protect, but also out of his chain of command provided the Air Force agreed with the Asgard's job offer.

Jack couldn't see any reason for his Government not to agree. Earth was effectively being offered the protection and help of the most advanced race in the Galaxy, to his knowledge, he corrected. Sam might know of another race more advanced, as far as he could see, the SGC had just fulfilled their primary mission for going through the Stargate.

As good as that felt, Jack couldn't help wondering, where did that leave him, his team, the program in general? He could feel himself going down a slippery path. SG1, the program, his mission had given him a new reason to keep on living after he'd lost his son and destroyed his marriage.

The depression and guilt he kept hidden away had been barely kept at bay by his mission, his new team right in the beginning, but lately things had changed. Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, had become a family to him, he needed them all. He'd just started to sleep through the night every once in a while. He'd just stopped looking for new ways to die each day he woke up. Losing SG1, any part of them or the mission was not something he thought he'd survive. Retiring would be a death sentence for him. It nearly had been the first time around. If Daniel and Abydos hadn't happened, he was sure he'd be dead now and that didn't even take into account how much he didn't want to lose what had just started between he and Sam.

Pushing the morbid thoughts away and focusing on the here and now, Jack listened to the questions his team was throwing at their host. He didn't hear anything he didn't like. It was a solution that could solve a lot of problems even if it might create a few for him personally. His military mind approved, but he felt a twist in the bottom of his stomach. After this mission, Sam won't need you anymore, the voice he was trying to lock away reminded him. She'll be working alongside aliens helping keep more than just their world safe. Why would she want to waste her time on him?

Hell, she'd be helping this advanced race solve their cloning problems. He still didn't see how he could possibly be the key to solving that problem, but the big brains could figure that out, right now he had to concentrate on the mission. He couldn't let himself think about what might happen or give into that dark side of himself that made him agree to commit suicide for his world the first time he stepped through the gate.

That decision seemed like a lifetime ago, even though it wasn't very long ago at all. The picture he'd witnessed of his future self pulling future Sam to him and kissing her flashed through him mind.

She'd fought for him on his patio. Hell, she'd fought with him on his patio until he'd agreed to give them a chance as a couple. "Stop being an Idiot," Jack told himself, not aware he'd whispered the word out loud until he noticed Sam look at him in question. He smiled slightly at her and shrugged, but didn't say anything else. She turned her attention back to Thor.

Jack would have smacked himself in the head if he'd thought it would help him not be so stupid. His insecurities had made him do some really asinine things over the years. He didn't want that to be the case now. She was too important to him.

He'd watched Sam's memories. He could see how much she loved him, could feel it when they were together. For just a moment, the darkness he'd learned to live with had reared its ugly head and made him doubt her. Jack couldn't see what she possibly saw in him, but he also couldn't doubt that her feelings were real. If you can't trust yourself O'Neill, trust Sam, he admonished himself.

Feeling a weight lift, Jack pushed his darkness back to a tolerable level and focused back on the discussion going on around him. Right now, what was important was that they still had a job to do. The fact that they might not be needed as a team after it was done was a worry he couldn't shake, but he'd fight for them. There had to be reasons to keep going through the gate and SG1 would still be needed. He'd keep the team together some way or another after they got back home. Sam wouldn't be on it and that wasn't something he liked.

What Sam had said about not letting this chance go made more sense to him than it ever had before. He had to face that fact that he might not be able to protect her all the time. He could lose her to this mission or to another one he wasn't there for. If she wasn't under his command anymore, she wouldn't be under his watchful eye or protected either.

Jack's world shifted in that moment when he realized that in the short few days he and Sam had started this thing between them, he was already in too deep to back out now. Protecting himself was no longer an option when it came to his amazing second in command. He was just going to have to ride it out and trust her to protect herself when he couldn't. Easier said than done, but borrowing trouble wasn't something he did very often and now was a stupid time to start.

For now, they still needed to save the universe from the bugs before anything else was possible. The mission was something he could concentrate on, not on what he might lose when it was all over. If he got any chance to enjoy his time with Sam while they were kicking bug ass that was a bonus he'd be jumping on. Jack smiled slightly as his choice of words sent a cascade of mental images playing across his mind.

"Ok, so we have Carter's future career choices mapped out," Jack broke in, jumping back into the conversation, using the distraction to help put thoughts of Sam, SG1 and home away for later. "Don't get me wrong, it all sounds good and I'm sure the little guys have an amazing benefits package," he said, waving his arms to encompass all of them and the ideas that had been bouncing around. "Just seems to me, since everything, including Sam's new job offer, hinges on us being able to squash the big metal bugs, we might want to table this discussion and figure out how exactly we do that." The room was quiet for a minute before Thor nodded.

"O'Neill is correct," Thor agreed. "We must find a way to defeat the replicators." He turned back to the controls behind him. "To do so, we need to access Samantha's memories once more."

"Is that necessary?" Daniel asked before Jack could get the words out. "Can't she just tell you this part now that you know you can trust us and that she is telling the truth?"

"It's OK, Daniel," Sam broke in. "If I leave out anything that might be important and this mission fails, I couldn't live with myself." She was right. Jack hadn't thought of that.

"OK," he agreed, "but that can wait until after you get some rest." Jack could see the objection rising to Sam's lips. "No argument, Carter," he ordered. Her skin was pale and she had been visibly shaking until just a few minutes ago.

"Colonel O'Neill is correct," a light flashed before any of them could say anything to Thor. At the opposite end of the room, five doors appeared. "I have prepared sleeping chambers for each of you as well as facilities to take care of your needs. Should you require more you may call me." Teal'c was already on his way to investigate with Daniel right on his heels.

"These look like Norse chambers we saw on Chimera," Daniel shouted over his shoulder, excited. Jack glanced at Sam with a raised eyebrow and inclined his head for her to go first. She looked like she might say something for a moment, but then thought better of it and turned to check out their accommodations.

"I was unsure what your race might prefer but I assume since you contacted me from Chimera, that your needs are not that much dissimilar to theirs." Jack couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him as he took in the low, fur covered bed of the alcove he'd peeked inside of. Suddenly, the thought of Sam against those furs as he covered her with his body flashed through his mind. Down boy, he admonished himself, spinning on his heels away from the door.

"This is fine," he assured their alien host. The little guy had his moments Jack decided, trying not to show his amusement too blatantly. Catching Sam's eye, he felt his face flush slightly. The look on her face was half amusement and half speculation, with a bit of forbearance around the edges. He'd been found out and she didn't look unhappy about the direction of his thought. That was promising, he decided. Glancing at Daniel, the other inquisitive one of their group, Jack was relieved to see him discussing the bathroom arrangements with Thor.

Another bright light and the primitive facilities had been changed to a slightly alien looking version of a modern bathroom. "Good job, Dr Jackson," Jack approved, stopping by his young friend and patting him on the back.

"I will have food brought to you." Thor answered the next question on Jack's mind without being asked. "I am unused to having other species aboard ship. I am unsure if our food stores will be to your liking, but they should provide you with your bodies nutritional requirements."

That didn't sound promising and the wince he caught on Carter's face did nothing to reassure him that the food would be edible, but they had their packs and plenty of supplies for the time being. For now they had everything they needed.

"I think that about does it," Jack turned back to Thor. "Thank you."

"You are welcome, O'Neill," the commander nodded slowly. "You may use the communication stone at the center of the room when you have rested. I, too, require time to process the information that has been presented. We will all benefit from time to recover from the day's events." With that, the now familiar flash of light signaled the conversation was over. SG1 found themselves alone.

"You OK, Sam?" Daniel asked as he retrieved his pack from the pile near one of the walls. "That was a lot to take in." Jack had to agree. He picked up his pack and Sam's, handing hers over before settling down next to Teal'c with his. The big warrior was already fishing through his pack and eying his MRE.

"I'm doing OK, Daniel," she answered, looking at her MRE with an expression not too different than the Jaffa. She held it up and announced its contents. The familiar trading around of MRE's began. Jack smiled slightly as he waved his hand to indicate he was happy with his meal, well as happy as any MRE ever made him. It always amazed him how they could be in such dire circumstances and still the family wrangling over meals would occur.


	26. Chapter 26 - Future Complications

Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended. **The lines of dialog you recognize are from the show, the rest you don't recognize are from me.**

AN: Thank you to everyone that is still reading though my very very delayed posts. I am trying to get back into the story and get excited about the direction again. Having a fun direction to explore is what always makes me want to write. Hopefully I will be posting a bit more regularly. As always, thank you Gategirl7 for being an awesome beta and helping kick start me into finishing this. Your comments always spur me along! Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Previously:

"You Ok Sam," Daniel asked as he retrieved his pack from the pile near one of the walls. "That was a lot to take in." Jack had to agree. He picked up his pack and Sam's, handing hers over before settling down next to Teal'c with his. The big warrior was already fishing through his pack and eyeing his MRE.

"I'm doing OK, Daniel," she answered, looking at her MRE with an expression not too different than the Jaffa. She held it up and announced its contents. The familiar trading around of MRE's began. Jack smiled slightly as he waved his hand to indicate he was happy with his meal, well as happy as any MRE ever made him. It always amazed him how they could be in such dire circumstances and still the familiar wrangling over meals would occur.

Chapter 26

Sam tried to process everything that had happened since Thor announced that she'd already changed the timeline so the Asgard saw no harm in changing it further by destroying the Replicators. What did that mean to her and her future? There was a very large part of her that wished she could erase her knowledge of what was to come.

Sam thought about her dad's face as he'd walked through the Stargate, weak with cancer, and met Selmak for the first time. Some things still needed to happen. She couldn't afford the luxury of forgetting her past, as hard as her knowledge made her future, it also made her who she was and that wasn't anything she wanted to give up either.

She also didn't want to be put in the position of trying to warn each team against every bad thing that might come or even being asked to show them the planets where they made the most important discoveries. Those types of changes could destroy the world if they weren't careful. She was fairly sure they'd destroy her. Sam sighed as she pushed her spoon into the last of what passed for mashed potatoes in her MRE. She had to trust that Thor and Hermiod could help her sort out how to deal with her knowledge.

Think about the good things to come, she told herself. When this was all over, she was going to be on Earth, in the ancient outpost, working with the Asgard. She enjoyed working with them whenever she'd had the chance. Maybe together they would solve the race's cloning problems.

Sam let her spoon slide from her fingers back into the MRE as a thought struck her. Since she'd be working with the Asgard, would she be in the military at all? Certainly she wouldn't be in Jack's chain of command. For a moment she let the ramifications sink in. She and Jack would be free to pursue whatever kind of relationship they chose. The thought sent warmth through her belly. That was amazing and wonderful and it made her future look bearable, bright even.

As Daniel and Jack's conversation filtered in, Sam realized she'd been spacing out pretty badly. She glanced up in time to see her commanding officer shoot her a relieved smile. He'd noticed. Jack noticed everything with his team. He tried to take care of all of them, but he kept a special eye on her and always had. She warmed from the inside out. This time around, she and Jack just might have a chance at happiness.

Daniel, she thought as guilt and sadness pushed at her. The image of a broken Daniel leaving the base in the passenger's seat of Jack's truck right after the original mission to Chulak slammed into her. She was doing exactly what she'd been afraid of. She was deciding life and death. She and Jack were changing their future by exploring a relationship. Was it fair that Daniel's wife was still missing?

Unable to sit any longer, she pushed to her feet. "Are you OK, Sam," Daniel asked her. She searched her mind for something to say. She wasn't ready to talk about what was on her mind. This was something they couldn't help her with.

"Just thought I'd pick up a little," she told him, reaching for her empty MRE and holding out her hand for his. Jack looked at her hard for a moment when she stopped in front of he and Teal'c, but he didn't say anything other than 'thank you'. As she deposited their trash in a panel on the wall, she considered what she knew. Every single one of SG1 had died to save the universe a time or two, at least from her prospective, but Daniel had given the most in some respects. Through everything, he never complained or played martyr.

How could she just watch him suffer when she had knowledge that would give him so much peace? The thought that she couldn't play God or she'd be no better than the Goa'uld crossed her mind, before she dismissed it. She figured that if the universe owed each of them few, it certainly owed Daniel the most. The Asgard did say that she'd already changed the future, she reasoned.

Decision made, she turned back to her team. "Daniel," she started before she had time to second guess herself. "When you dial Abydos' gate at the one year anniversary of when you told Sha're's family you'd be back, you need to be prepared to save Sha're. The Goa'uld inside her will be dormant for just a little while, don't hesitate, no matter what you see or think or she had to tell you. Bring her home and sort everything else out after you get her safely away from Abydos. I'm sure the Asgard will remove her symbiote." She stopped in front him and sat down, taking his hands, "Don't hesitate even for a second, Daniel, take her home, right then and there." She turned to Teal'c. "You'll be with him, don't let him hesitate." The room was silent. Daniel's face was more alive than she'd ever remembered seeing. Some of the tension she'd been holding since the whole mess started lifted. She wasn't expecting to be pulled into the archeologist's arms or hugged so tightly. Hugging back, she smiled. She was doing the right thing.

"I'm not sure Carter's breathing there Daniel, you might want to ease up before you break her," At Jack's comment, Daniel released her, and sat back. His face looked so young and optimistic it brought home to Sam again how much she loved and needed her team. Thor was right; she'd been changing history from the moment she'd told Jack who she was. Maybe she'd changed it from the moment she'd woken up, but she had to trust that they'd survived everything to come once. They'd do it again, changes and all.

"Can we do this Jack?" Daniel was already questioning. "Will I be able to bring her back to Earth, do you think the Asgard will take out her symbiote? Maybe we could take her to Chimera and use Thor's hammer."

Sam was surprised when Jack held up his hand to stop the discussion. "What changed your mind, Carter?" His face was unreadable. "Deciding that playing God is not such a bad gig or are you holding something back that your team, your commanding officer might need to know. Have you decided that you aren't going to make it through this little adventure and you want us to have the intel just in case?" His words surprised her. She searched his face, not sure where his question came from.

"No, of course not," she defended. "I don't understand where your question is coming from, Sir." Jack was a lot harder to read than she was used to. She had no idea what he was thinking. Did he really believe she was preparing to sacrifice herself? She'd dismissed his first question as Jack's sarcasm and didn't dignify it with an answer.

"You were so opposed," he pointed out, his eyes sharp as they studied her face. "Now suddenly you are all for changing history, or at least I'm assuming that we'd be changing history to save her a few weeks from now."

Ok, she could see where he would be suspicious, she decided. It was not easy getting used to the 'young' Jack. The term made her smile ruefully. They were actually about the same age at this point if you considered her 'real' years as opposed to her 'timeline' years.

"It wouldn't be the first time you have made a decision and decided to leave us out of it," he pointed out. She flushed. She'd done that on Chimera.

"Indeed," Teal'c chimed in, raising an eyebrow expectantly at her. Sam sudden intake of breath didn't get any reaction from anyone, not even Daniel. Their mistrust hurt. She couldn't pretend it didn't, but they had the right to it.

"Guys," she held her hands up defensively. "I'm not hiding any plans to sacrifice myself." She focused on Jack. She wanted his trust, but she was starting to realize just how much she deserved his questions after all of the secrets she'd kept up until the Asgard broadcast of her memories.

"Colonel, I promised you I wouldn't do that again and I mean it." She let that sink in. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I made a mistake on Chimera, but I won't repeat that mistake." She watched her Colonel's face as he took in her words. This wasn't about their fledgling relationship. This was very much about their working one. She needed to rebuild his trust as her CO. She'd broken that, something she'd never thought she'd do. She found herself holding her breath as she waited for his answer.

"Ok, Carter," he finally said, his body relaxing slightly. "So what did change your mind about not futzing with the timeline?"

That was a fair question. "You heard Thor, we've already made changes. I know I can't go around playing God and I wouldn't want to." She paused, trying to think about how the Jack she was dealing with right this minute might feel. He didn't feel the bonds with her yet, that she felt with him.

He'd seen some of the things they all, as a team, had done in her memories, but he hadn't physically experienced those events yet. He wasn't the Jack that trusted and loved her without question. This man didn't see her as the woman he'd fought side by side with and mentored for the last 10 years. They were just establishing their working relationship. She had his respect that much she knew, but she wanted his unconditional trust in her.

Sam searched for how to make him understand her change of mind. "We've all sacrificed so much for this world, each of us, from my perspective, has fought, died from time to time, and sacrificed more than we ever thought possible." She paused, trying to gauge his reaction. "Before I talk myself out of it, I want to help Daniel and Sha're." He didn't look convinced. "I don't know what comes next. This is new ground for me too with the Asgard and Replicators," she reminded them all. Her commanding officer's face had lightened. He was thinking about what she'd said. That was a good sign. A thought struck her as she remembered Daniel's reaction when Teal'c had been forced to kill Sha're.

She turned away from Jack, "Daniel, just please promise me that you won't leave the program because after we've found her. We need you." She wouldn't take back the knowledge she'd given him, but she knew how necessary he was to the SGC and to the team.

Daniel stayed fairly silent through the exchange. She could see him processing all of the information he'd been given. "Do I really make that much of a difference?" he asked. She wasn't surprised by his question. No matter his age, this man would never realize the impact he had on others.

"Yes," she assured him. "You make that much of a difference, in more lives than I can count."

"Then I will stay." Daniel's words erased her fear. He was a man of his word. He would stay.

"Damn right you are staying," Jack broke in. "You couldn't leave, Daniel." At the younger man's questioning look, Jack leaned forward intently, "Did you notice the soldier you become in the future?" He put his hand on Teal'c's shoulder. "Our little boy had grown up Teal'c. Watching him fight nearly put a tear in my eye."

"He has not yet 'grown up', O'Neil," Teal'c pointed out. "But I, too, agree that you must not leave the fight, Daniel Jackson. You appear to have become a fine warrior as have you, Samantha Carter." Teal'c's address of her without rank felt a little strange. She smiled at the compliment and dropped her head a bit to hide her blush. Teal'c calling anyone a fine warrior was a big deal.

Glancing at Daniel's face, she smiled to see she wasn't the only one blushing. He was taking on red tints as well as he too fought embarrassment at the compliments coming from the team's two warriors. Although, Sam noted with a roll of her eyes, Daniel's hair was almost long enough to hide some of his face where as hers was too short to do any good. She ran a self-conscious hand through her hair. She really missed long hair.

"Thank you, guys," Daniel said finally, "I won't leave when we find Sha're. I want to bring her back to Earth and I want to keep this planet safe so no system lord will ever touch her again."

Jack leaned forward to pat the younger man on the back. "That sounds like a plan, Daniel." Sam smiled, she was glad she'd gone with her instincts. Stranger, friend, it didn't matter to Daniel, he'd give his all. The universe hadn't been particularly kind to him in her experience. She was glad she could give this to him.

"So what's up with the hair in the future, T?" Jack obviously had decided they all needed to think about something a little less stressful for a little while. Sam appreciated his diversionary tactics. It had been a long day and she was ready to let some of the stress go. The guys' bantering always had a calming effect on her. "Not a bad look, Big Guy," he pointed out as he reached in his pocket and fished out the candy bar he'd been saving from his MRE.

"I liked it," Daniel piped in. "Made you look distinguished.

"Indeed," was Teal'c's only response. Jack's face clearly showed his disappointment.

"And what about you, Daniel," he changed targets, obviously hoping Daniel would be easier to bait. "Did you see those muscles?" He reached over and poked Daniel's arm. "Quite the guns you had developed," Jack frowned, "will develop, you know, whatever."

She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her. The man always had a way of making her smile. The image of the fur covered bed Thor had left for them and the speculation on Jack's face when he'd glanced at her earlier came to mind. Sam shifted as the thoughts of Jack and the fur covered beds began to heat her blood. With his usual perfect timing, Jack picked that moment to glance at her and by expression, it was obvious he knew she'd been speculating about him. The wicked grin that graced his lips before he turned back to listen to what Daniel and Teal'c were saying sent shockwaves across her skin.

There was that grin of his, yep, he knew what she was thinking about she decided, feeling the heat in her blood kick up another notch. Jack made a show of yawning and stretched his arms, flexing his shoulders before rolling them the way he always did after a long day. Sam found she had trouble looking away. "Ok, Campers," he announced as he stood up. "I think it's time we got some shut eye. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."


End file.
